Dear Stranger
by ssssslytherclaw
Summary: When Hermione gets an invitation to join a therapeutic pen pal program called Medicinal Mail, she joins half-heartedly, only to slowly fall in love with the stranger she's writing to. (based on You've Got Mail)
1. Chapter 1

_September 2001_

Hermione jammed her key into the old lock on the wooden backdoor of her shop and forcefully barreled her way into the back room. She huffed slightly as she moved a box full of the latest book shipment out of the way. She pulled off her mustard yellow scarf and set it on the old mahogany counter as she made her way to the windows. As soon as she had yanked on the old tether, the wooden blinds had flung themselves to the top of the window and the bright morning light had cascaded into the room. It really was a beautiful sight; a bookshop in the fall.

Another barreling down of the door in the back signalled the arrival of Hannah Abbot, on time as always. Hannah had been with Hermione at the shop since the beginning and was a fantastic worker, but now she was really just doing what she had to in order to raise the money necessary to buy The Three Broomsticks from Madam Rosmerta. Hannah wanted to own her own business and be her own boss. She also wanted to be closer to Neville, her fiance, who worked as the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts and she was very close to achieving her goal. Madam Rosmerta was ready to retire and although she had been made many offers on the place, she wanted it to go to Hannah and was willing to wait for her to raise the money.

"Morning 'Mione!" She hollered from the back room as she put away her coat.

"Morning Hannah!" Hermione answered as she started shelving a handful of books that had been tucked away behind the counter and Hannah entered the room, "How was your evening?"

Hannah sighed, "Not awful but certainly not splendid, I swear I'm going to kill my landlord if he raises the rent again before I can pay off Rosmerta. The wanker went off gambling last weekend and thought raising the rent would be a perfectly rational way to restore what he lost. I was enraged-" "And rightfully so" Hermione interjected, "thanks, but anyways I made my way down to his office and was fully prepared to hex his bits off until I realized how unproductive that would be."

"I think you made the right call, he would have just charged you extra for his bits had you gone through with it." She said with a chuckle, "Besides your not far from paying her, right?"

"No not at all, I've only got about 16 galleons left"

"Oh your next few paychecks ought to cover that!"

"I'm well aware. What are you guys going to do without me?"

"Well I'm sure Colin and I will find someone to cover the work, but I don't think it will be that much more difficult having two people reshelve books and work the cashier rather than three. Don't worry about us, we'll get along just fine." Hermione gave Hannah a comforting look as the poor girl's face was drenched in guilt.

"I know, I know," She said as she finally cracked a smile, "Where is Colin anyways?"

"Have you ever known him to be on time?"

"No, but I am surprised someone like you isn't more annoyed with his perpetual tardiness."

"I lightened up after the War, you all know that." Hermione began as she made her way to the back room to collect another box full of books, Hannah in tow, "I don't want to waste my time being angry over little things, I'd rather not burden myself with unnecessary stress. It takes its toll after a while."

Hannah seemed a bit squelched in silence at her response. "I admire you for that, Hermione, I really do."

The back door lurched open once more and Colin Creevey made his way into the shop. He looked rather off kilter, as he always did in the morning, and ruggedly handsome as the girls had deemed him. Hermione and Hannah had spent quite a lot of time devoted to the subject of Colin and his shockingly good looks, and after hours of debate they had settled on the conclusion that Colin was surprisingly, devastatingly handsome; much to his own oblivion. Colin was a very carefree and rather naive guy with an insatiable love for learning, much like Hermione's, and a proclivity for very dry, witty, one-liners. He had sandy blonde hair, a chiseled jaw, a lean build, and bright eyes. He dressed in oxfords and jumpers and wore tortoise shell glasses which often sat atop his head. He made almost every girl that walked in the shop swoon.

"Well speak of the devil, he's finally arrived." Hannah said as she and Hermione shared a small chuckle.

"Morning ladies, did you miss me?" Colin said in his usual droll as he hung his coat and scarf.

"About as much as I miss the Ministry." Hermione said in mock annoyance.

"That stings 'Mione, it truly does." Colin teased, "So how's the new shipment looking?"

"Just as good as the last I'm afraid, this one's restock, sadly nothing new." Hermione said as she examined the spine of a slightly damaged book on the wonders of North American wisteria in healing potions. Some restock books truly did puzzle her.

Colin had since checked his wrist for the time and had made his way to the front door to turn the small sign from 'CLOSED' to 'OPEN'.

The clock hit 7 and Hermione had just finished ringing up the last customer of the day. With a small smile she closed and locked the door behind the middle aged woman who made her way down the barren cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley.

"And that's a wrap," Colin said as he lifted his arms in victory on his way to the coatrack, "I will see you ladies promptly tomorrow morning for another satisfying day of work." He shot them a wry smile as he flung his navy blue scarf around his neck and tipped his nonexistent hat to them as he made his way out the door.

Hannah smiled though her brow was rather questioning and turned to Hermione, "Well, I will see you tomorrow, much more promptly than Colin will, I might add." She smirked and lazily made her way to the back to pull her coat on. "Have a nice night!" She said as she simultaneously pulled her left arm through the sleeve and backed her way out of the stubborn wooden door. Hermione smiled and waved in farewell.

Hermione finished her locking-up process and then finally pulled her coat on to make her way out the door, "Nox" she whispered, and the lights went out. She idly made her way down the street to the apparition point, thinking warmly about Ron waiting for her at home. He would have gotten off his regular shift at 6, unless there was some sort of emergency that had to be dealt with, in that case who knows when he would make his way home. She passed the street limit and rounded the corner, disappearing in a swirl of air and a loud cracking sound.

She reappeared in a quiet back alley that was tucked away in the middle of a practically abandoned side street, not too far from the train station that took many muggles from their area to work every morning and brought them home in a timely fashion, half past 5 every evening.

Hermione started off on her two block walk home to her flat after checking the area to make sure she didn't pop out of nowhere looking suspicious.

She arrived at her flat, No. 17 Wesley Avenue, at 7:43 to the sight of Ron Weasley attempting, and utterly failing, to make tea on the muggle stove that was very foreign to him.

"Ron, what on earth are you doing?"

" 'Mione you're home! I didn't even hear you come in, I've been so focused on this bloody thing, I can't ever remember how to work it." He was drawn back into his endeavor with a quizzical brow and pursed lips, Hermione chuckled at his determination while removing her coat and gently pushing him to the side as she placed the kettle on the correct burner and demonstrated the correct way to light the flame on the old gas stove. Her flat was in a smaller suburban area right outside of London and the building she lived in was rather old, but she loved it. It had charm and character. She was a sucker for charm and character.

She instructed Ron to pull down some cups from the cabinet and she poured the tea as they took their seats at her small kitchen table.

"How was your day, love?" Ron asked. Ron was not always the greatest at being inquisitive but he had been trying much harder lately after Hermione lit into him one day for not caring. He seemed somewhat terrified after that, but now he was good at asking her about her day when she got home so she didn't regret her actions in the slightest.

"Rather dull; Mrs. Ferrigan, that horrid old woman with the temper, made her way in today and was rather snippy with Colin about subpar service. Colin didn't appreciate it to say the least and had her out of the store in about a minute flat, that was the only even relatively exciting thing that happened."

"Sounds lovely" Ron grimaced as he looked into his teacup. "How's Hannah doing, by the way? I heard she's close to owning The Three Broomsticks."

"Very close, I think her next two paychecks should cover the rest of it, which is very exciting. I'm sad to see her go of course but I'll still see her often."

"Of course you will, we make our way to the Three Broomsticks often enough and you two are close, it's not the end of your friendship."

"True, very true." Hermione sat back in her chair. She adored Hannah and they had grown rather close being at the shop together but she was happy to see her pursuing something she wanted. "Anyways, how was your day?"

"We had a new case come in, not incredibly exciting but not too dull. There was an assault outside Hogsmeade involving quite a few curses and one of the Zonkos workers witnessed the whole thing, they didn't see it clearly enough to identify a suspect's face right off the bat, but it's a reliable lead. I think it'll be wrapped up within the week."

"That's great, Ron." Hermione smiled faintly as she raised her teacup to her lips.

They talked for about half hour before Hermione realized she was starving. Ron said he was exhausted and they said goodnight as he made his way to the bedroom. Hermione pulled some ingredients for a sandwich out of the fridge and waited until she heard Ron snoring soundly in the other room. She glanced around the corner to make sure the bedroom door was closed before stepping away from her half-made sandwich and making her way quietly through the living room and into the small nook by the windows that housed her rolltop desk. She cast a quick Silencing charm before lifting the very squeaky cover. She pulled out a letter that had been stuffed in one of the drawers before she had left for work. She hadn't had the chance to read it before leaving that morning so she flicked on the small lamp above her and smiled as she unfolded the paper.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I stayed up rather late tonight thinking about what I wanted to write you. I threw away at least four letters before this one. I've realized trying to impress you without giving up my identity is a lot more difficult than I originally bargained. You'd think it would be easier after five months of this but it certainly isn't. I can't talk about my job, or what school I went to, or who I'm friends with, or where I live. Then I got to thinking that if those are the things I think make me interesting, I am a sordid disappointment to myself and most likely others. I'm going to try to come up with some things that might intrigue you into infatuation as you have done so for me in previous letters, so here goes. I love reading. (That was all I could think of. But to some that's interesting and I'm hoping you are a part of that some.) I recently became ingrained in the works of a Muggle author, which surprised me greatly. His name is William Shakespeare, have you ever heard of him? He's quite an old chap but you seem like the educated type so I'm going to hope for the best. Who knows he could be your favorite. Anyways, I just finished reading Macbeth, a bit dark for my taste (which would shock anyone who knows me, I'm usually a fan of grim reads) and I wasn't a fan of his representation of witches, but other than that it was fine. My favorite so far is Hamlet, another grim one but at least it had redeeming qualities. I'm thinking of starting one of his comedies next. Do you happen to have any recommendations for me (Shakespeare or otherwise)?_

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Hermione was positively beaming by the end. She loved Shakespeare and Hamlet was probably her favorite too now that she thought about it. She did love Much Ado About Nothing. It was hard to decide. Nonetheless, she grabbed some parchment and a quill and began her response.

The letters had started about 5 months ago. After Hermione had put in a for a new pen pal through a Ministry program that was created to help wizards and witches struggling to find happiness after the War. Hermione wasn't unhappy per se, but she was seriously struggling to recuperate. She had started a Ministry job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures after she finished her 7th year at Hogwarts and had worked there for about a year before she realized that it was not where she wanted to be. She of course had a passion for the rights of house-elves and continued to fight for their rights whenever and however she could, but the Ministry was just too hard on her. She was constantly hounded by purebloods for forcing them to give up their servants, the Ministry itself had no respect for her cause, and the sheer force of will it took to keep herself going throughout the day was starting to take its toll on her. So she quit.

During the War, Diagon Alley had completely shut down. Most of the shop owners were too worn out after the War to return, and sadly, some had been killed. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was the only shop that had remained open from the time before the War.

Hermione had jumped on the chance to buy the old Flourish and Blotts building. She had been walking through one day on her way to meet Ron at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes when she glanced forlornly at what used to be her favorite shop. She spotted a sign in the window that read "For Sale by Owner", and on a crazy impulse she pulled a pen and paper from her bag and put her name down as a potential buyer, slipping it through the slot on the front door.

Three days later, an unfamiliar owl was tapping at her window clutching some rather official looking paperwork. When she had unraveled the ribbon encasing everything, a note from the owner, a man by the name of Phillip Castor, said he was ecstatic that Hermione wanted to buy the shop as he was quite tired of owning it but didn't want to see such a lovely place go to utter waste. He had included the papers of ownership and a purchasing contract. His price was reasonable and he sounded quite desperate to have it under new ownership. Hermione of course, bleeding heart that she was, signed the papers immediately and sent them on their merry way. A week later, the shop was hers.

Not long after, she received a letter from the Ministry saying that they would love to have her as a part of a new program they were trying out, called the Medicinal Mail Initiative, to provide some sort of solace to any wizard or witch who was the least bit distraught after the War and struggling to find the happiness they needed. The whole thing was spearheaded by Susan Bones, an overwhelmingly optimistic former Hufflepuff who worked for a small subgroup of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes which dealt with the aftereffects of the accident and occasional trauma. They were usually a forgotten-about department until Susan came along after the War and decided they needed to do what they could to help those who were suffering from post-traumatic stress and the like.

Hermione joined Medicinal Mail half-heartedly about a month after receiving her invitation. She was matched to some strange girl in the south of Scotland who seemed to be mad all the time and quite annoyed that she was getting mail even though she had to have willingly joined the initiative. Other than her apparently always-there anger and the general area where she was from, Hermione knew practically nothing else about her. She had been instructed upon receiving the welcome pamphlet that she was not to tell her pen pal her name, where exactly she lived (countries and general areas, like the south for example, were allowed), where she worked, where she attended school, or the names of anyone she knew. They told her it was secretive so that pen pals would be inclined to get to know the deeper things about one another while also feeling free to talk about their emotions without the pressure of ever confronting the person. Hermione was quite interested in how it worked with the pairings not knowing each other's names and Susan explained that the Ministry provided the pairings with an owl specifically assigned to them who knew the identities of each pen pal. Susan had thought out the perfect way to allow total strangers to vent about their feelings to each other without feeling bad about it.

For the next six months, Hermione maintained a somewhat steady pen pal relationship with the Scottish girl, until she decided she had had enough of her pen pal's vague vexation. She had contacted Susan and asked her if there was any way she could switch pen pals with someone or somehow get reassigned, but Susan said no every time she asked. Hermione spent the next two months trying to convince her pen pal to drop out of the program, and surprisingly enough she did. Hermione then went immediately to Susan and asked for a new pen pal. Susan exasperatedly pulled a folder out of a stack on her desk and randomly selected a new assignment for Hermione out of the new applicants. She looked at the name, wrote it down, making sure Hermione's back was to her, on her master list of pairings. Hermione, feeling quite satisfied with herself, she made her way home.

The next day she woke up to an owl, the same one she had seen almost everyday for the next five months that followed, tapping at her window with a letter in its claws. She opened her window, quickly unfolded the parchment and read the first of many:

 _Dear Stranger…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Stranger,_

 _Shakespeare is one of my favorites and Hamlet one of my favorite of his works. If I were to recommend a comedy to you it would be Much Ado About Nothing, very funny and not nearly as complicated as A Midsummer Night's Dream. Macbeth is one of my least favorites, it's much too dark and there isn't a single enjoyable character. If you ever need book recommendations I'd say I'm a fairly reliable source. I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time reading, but then again I don't believe reading could ever be unhealthy. Reading was my preferred form of escape from unhappiness after the War and it certainly helped, so there it is; reading simply cannot be unhealthy._

 _Anyways, I suppose I should relay another interesting fact about myself since you were so obliging in your last letter. I absolutely adore the fall. It's my favorite season, so I'm happier than usual lately because it is September and September means crisp air, warm jumpers, and the start of the new school year. I know I can't tell you where I attended but I will tell you this, I loved school. I love learning and school was where I thrived. I was always exceedingly happy at the start of term, so whenever September rolls around I think about how exceedingly happy I was when I was a schoolgirl at this time of year and I feel inclined to be just as happy again. I walk outside in the morning and the air is clean and fresh and when I come home from work I fix myself a cup of tea, grab a book, and nestle under a blanket on the couch while looking out my window and think about how picture perfect everything is in the fall._

 _But enough of that, I know we've been writing each other consistently about our emotions for 5 months, but there is so much to learn about you. If you don't mind I'd very much like to request another interesting something about you or your life._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Draco couldn't help a smile after reading the letter for what must have been the 7th time. He was absolutely enthralled with this woman and it was killing him on the inside knowing that he would most likely never meet her. She was perfect. She was kind and funny and she understood him. Not only would he probably never meet her, even if he wanted to he'd have to find a way out of his relationship with Pansy first. At this point it couldn't even be considered a relationship. Draco was conned into a relationship with Pansy after she scared him into thinking she was pregnant at the end of September after the War had ended. It didn't take long for Draco to find out the truth, but Pansy still had the upper hand. Her family was wealthy and therefore had a lot of influence and if she played her cards correctly she could have gotten Draco's year long stint in Azkaban greatly extended. Thankfully Draco had been able to sort out a bargain with Pansy in order to keep her from tampering with his gracious prison sentence; he agreed to a year long relationship (not including the time he spent in Azkaban, Pansy threw that bit in) to please her and her family (they enjoyed being connected to the Malfoy name) and after the 12 months came to an end, they would say they split mutually and on good terms.

Today was September 8th, their bargain ended on September 29th. He could almost taste freedom.

Draco had spent the entire year of 1999 in Azkaban for his affiliation with Voldemort. The Ministry was thankfully gracious as they realized he was only a boy. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The dementors were awful. The dementors were horrifyingly awful. That was by far the worst part. He could deal with the cold and the cell and the dirtiness but when your last shred of hope and happiness feels like it's being drained out of your body by the very air you breathe, that he could not handle. He had no wand to defend himself, and much less an ability to cast a patronus. So when Draco was finally released he was determined to find something to make him happy again. He dragged himself through almost three months of probation that was pretty much just house arrest without a scrap of happiness to show for it. Given there was plenty to do at his house and if one were to be on house arrest one would probably want to be in a house the size of his; but Malfoy Manor was cold and morbid and brought back every terrifying memory he had spent the last year trying to forget.

Thankfully, at the end of March, Draco received a letter from his probation supervisor with an invitation to join a Ministry program called Medicinal Mail that focused on bringing happiness and cheer to wizards and witches who were struggling to find it after the War. Draco had tossed the pamphlet onto his desk and stared at it for a good 12 minutes before deciding that he was just wasting time and that of course he would join the bloody initiative. He wanted happiness and the opportunity to find it was sitting right before him on a mahogany desktop.

Draco had pulled out a quill and parchment a split second after making his decision and quickly addressed a letter to the head of the Medicinal Mail Initiative, Susan Bones, that stated he was interested in joining and if he could please be informed as soon as he was assigned a partner.

Hermione Granger had been hounding her for weeks about getting a new assignment and Susan was quite tired of it as she had clearly stated that unless one pen pal writes to inform her that they have decided to leave the program or both pen pals make a viable complaint, she could not just simply reassign someone for not liking who they were paired up with. When Hermione had come into her office not five minutes before with a letter from her pen pal saying that she was bored of the whole ordeal, Susan had decided to just give up.

She sighed and made Hermione turn her back so she couldn't have a chance to see the name that was selected. Susan pulled out her folder of participants who had yet to be paired, there were only seven people on the list and some had requested she not pair them until a certain date which she thought a tad odd, but when she glanced over the list once more and realized in full clarity what name she had added just that morning, she smiled mischievously for the first time in her life. Draco Malfoy's name shone brightly in large metallic print at the bottom of the list. She didn't even care if pairing Hermione with Draco meant that the raving brunette would be back in her office in a week. She knew that with Hermione's brains and her and Malfoy's past, it would not take them long to discover that they hated each other and then realize the true identity of the person they were writing to.

She was very wrong. Susan had not heard a peep from Hermione in months. Though she decided it wasn't a completely awful alternative to what she had originally hoped.

Draco had received a letter from Susan Bones barely six hours after sending in his volunteer letter. She had written that the delivery owl outside his window was to be his and his pen pal's owl and that if he were to write a letter the owl would take it immediately to his pen pal's home. Owls, being magical birds, knew when you needed them, so whenever Draco or his partner penned a letter to each other, their owl would simply make their way from the Ministry owlery to whichever home and deliver the letter the other had also written an entire spiel about not telling your pen pal who you were, where you worked, who your friends were, where you attended school, or where exactly you lived, so as to allow total freedom in sharing your emotions. It was really quite an ingenious program.

Draco was so excited he could barely contain himself. He practically sprinted to his desk to start writing. He sat with his quill hovering above the paper for a bit thinking about how to start, what to say, how to say it. He didn't want to mess this up. He wanted whoever it was out there reading his words to like him for them. He absentmindedly brushed the feathers of the quill across his forehead as he thought outloud.

"Dear Pen Pal is too boring and pen pal is just an odd phrase to begin with and I'd rather not call them that. Dear Whoever sounds too careless and I certainly don't want them to think I don't care. Dear Partner sounds bad. Just bad."

Draco's eyes widened slightly and he rapidly leaned forward and scribbled onto the parchment:

 _Dear Stranger_

He sat for a few more minutes with his quill against his forehead and his thumb between his teeth before taking a deep breath and writing a short, friendly letter that he thought was well suited to the occasion.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _Hello, it's nice to finally to have someone to talk to. I'm hoping that these letters will result in even the smallest bit of happiness for you, as I'm hoping they will do for me. I want to be happy again and I'm hoping my efforts won't be in vain. I'm sure you're a wonderful person and I can't wait to hear from you. I hope I sound friendly to you, sometimes I don't always come across that way in my letters. Anyways, I apologize for this being so short. I figured there isn't much one can do with an introductory letter. Hope to hear from you soon._

 _A Stranger_

Draco laughed a bit at his own writing. If he had written something even remotely like this in school his friends would have bullied him mercilessly for it. But Azkaban had changed him. He was tired of being a bully and the bad guy. He wanted to be happy and he knew that wasn't going to happen if he kept acting the way he did when he was a teenager. He didn't want to act that way anymore, there was no use for it and it just resulted in dejection.

He gave one more satisfied look over his letter before folding it up and sending it off with the Ministry owl that had appeared on his windowsill.

Draco had been working as a clerk for the Auror Office at the Ministry at the suggestion of his probation supervisor. He had been there for two months now and was honestly a little sick of it. The work was very repetitive and the room itself was musty. He had decided to keep at it until he found something else that he was sure to get and that was willing to hire someone with prison on their record. He had yet to come across that option.

He had just finished another very dull day at work and was ready to get home. He hoped that a letter would be waiting for him as he had sent one to her yesterday morning and had yet to hear back. He flooed back to the Manor and immediately set off for his bedroom.

He was ecstatic to see their owl, who they had lovingly deemed Henry at her suggestion, sitting on the perch just outside the window waiting for his arrival. Draco tossed his case to his bed and practically lept across the room to unhook the window.

"Thanks Henry." He said with a smile as he gently took the letter from the bird's talons. He grabbed a small treat from a bowl he kept on the sill and fed it to him in gratitude before hastening to his desk. He unfolded it as quickly as possible without ripping the parchment and smiled as he began to read.

 _Dear Stranger…_


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was lying in bed, staring out the window at the foggy London Sunday that waited just outside. She glanced at her clock to see that she had satisfyingly slept in until 8:15. It had been a long week and Sunday was the only day of the week that the shop didn't open, so Hermione was going to savor it. Ron had gone home to the Burrow for the weekend so she had her flat to herself again. She loved Ron, she really did, but she didn't know just how much. She often found herself to be quite relieved whenever he went home. He had never officially moved in but he spent so much time at Hermione's flat that he ended up just sort of living there. She wasn't even really sure if they were dating. After the War, everyone had just expected them to end up together, and for a while Hermione was sure that was what she had wanted to. But now she realized that she had been looking at her relationship with Ron through rose-colored glasses for an awfully long time. They were just together because they thought they ought to be.

A tapping at the living room window stirred Hermione from her thoughts and by the time the second tap came Hermione had shot out of bed and sprinted across the length of her flat. Hermione pushed the window up and reached out to take the letter from Henry. "Thank you, Henry." She said with a smile before he flew off.

She pulled the window back down as the air outside was much too brisk to keep it open and grabbed a blanket off the couch before sitting down at her desk. She unfolded the letter with as much care and enthusiasm as was simultaneously possible, her smile widening as she started to read the scrawly script.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _Another interesting something, huh? Let's see. As I've said I'm sure many times before, I'm a very introverted person. I have a pretty small group of friends and I like having time to myself. I've noticed lately that I prefer to spend a lot of my time alone. I've come to enjoy the quiet instead of hiding away in it. I don't seek it out so I can hide from the outside world or from things I wish to forget. I like the quiet, I like being alone, I like just sitting and thinking. I didn't used to be like this actually, I was pretty outgoing in school and I knew a lot of people. I didn't mind attention and in my younger years I craved it. But when the War was picking up pace and things started getting serious, I hid away a lot of the time. I didn't want to face the War and I certainly didn't want to face the fact it might hurt someone I love. I saw being alone as something I shouldn't do for a long time, but now I've come to accept my lone-wolf tendencies. Whenever I have time off I like to lock myself up in my room and read or go to the little tea shop not far from my home. It's always quiet there and it seems so picturesque. If I ever had the chance to take you there I would. It's a lovely place. Although lately, I spend a lot of my alone time writing to you, or rereading your letters. They make me smile and they make being alone not quite as lonely and the quiet somehow more peaceful than before. Thank you for that._

 _Anyways, I'm getting carried away and just now realizing that that probably wasn't all that interesting. I'm sorry if you are sitting at your desk utterly bewildered about why on earth I would write something so terribly dreary. I guess it suits the weather and that's why I thought of it._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Hermione sat at her desk quietly for a few minutes as she tried to take in every word. It was so beautifully sad and she didn't know whether to feel heartbroken that he was so lonely or positively elated that she made him as happy as she did. If she were not in a relationship with Ron, and telling this man exactly who she was and that she wanted nothing more than to meet him wasn't directly against the rules of Medicinal Mail, Hermione would have written right back and told him where he could find her and to do so immediately. But alas she was not a rule-breaker, quite the opposite actually, and there was a little part of her that was afraid of possibly meeting her stranger. What if meeting him ruined everything? What if their chemistry was only through words on paper? Her mind was reeling with what-ifs that ended in heartbreak and a multitude of constructed scenarios that ended in disaster.

Instead of allowing her prone-to-overthinking-itself brain to completely overwhelm her, she pulled out some parchment and a quill and started writing.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I completely understand your predicament. I've also come to value my alone time. During the War I tried desperately to never be alone, because being alone meant being in danger and that was the last place I wanted to be. Instead I spent so much time catering to the needs and emotions of others that I ignored what I needed to keep myself sane. If I had taken a little extra time to sit alone for a few minutes and think and breathe I probably would have come out of the War with a lot less baggage. But I didn't, and now I'm stuck in a letter-writing program to help me deal with my emotions. I don't really mind it though._

 _Much like yourself, I've come to cherish any quiet time I get. Whenever my roommate is gone I try to do something I enjoy that I otherwise would not have time for. I like to put on old jazz records and practice knitting (I'm really quite awful at knitting and I don't know why), or make some tea and watch an old black and white film (you know, the Muggle moving pictures? I know you aren't as familiar with Muggle things so I hope I'm not confusing you). But my favorite thing is getting to write to you. I finish each work day with a smile on my face because I hope when I get home that there's a letter from you waiting at my window. I smile at every word I read and it's hard for me to identify any other occasion in my day-to-day life where I'm quite as happy. I feel carefree and content when I'm writing you, and I certainly hope you feel the same way._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Hermione's smile dissolved as she signed the last and saddest word on the paper. She didn't want to be a stranger to him. She wasn't sure if she was ready quite yet but she knew she didn't want to go on forever without knowing. She berated herself for being foolish, but she could no longer deny the inevitable. She was falling in love with a stranger. She had never done something so incredibly stupid in her entire life but here she was, enjoying every minute of it.

Henry showed up at her window ready to take her completed letter to her stranger and she she shook her head as if to push away any possibility of doing what the back of her mind was telling her to. She folded up the parchment, rolled up the window, and passed it off to Henry. The bird took off in a tawny blur at incredible speed and Hermione huffed to herself as she pushed the window back into place and collapsed in confusion on the couch.

Draco wasn't expecting to get a letter in the middle of the day, they usually came in the evening or before he left for work as he imagined that's what her schedule allowed, so he was pleasantly surprised. He let Henry in for a treat and then opened the letter to the inevitable:

 _Dear Stranger…_

Draco was his usual positively elated self after reading one of her letters. She was right about feeling carefree, he felt that she lifted every burden off his shoulders while simultaneously making him fall more in love with her with every word. Love. He was in love with her. He sat at his desk, wide-eyed and stoic. He had never been in love with anyone before so he didn't know how it felt, but of course that sounded absurd because how are you supposed to know what it feels like until you fall in love. Draco had just assumed that he would have been more aware of it instead of having the sentiment randomly appear in his train of thought.

He dwelled on it for a moment before thinking about how to handle this new revelation. He had 20 days until his deal with Pansy was off and he would be free to meet the girl of his dreams. If she agreed to it, that is.

After about 15 minutes of thought, Draco had devised a small plan. He would stretch out 20 more days worth of letters, learning everything he could about her, and once the calendar hit September 29th, he would ask her if they could finally meet. If she said no, well Draco would be devastated and probably lock himself up in his room for a solid week, but if she said yes they would pick a place and the rest would be history. So Draco picked up a quill and parchment and began his response.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I thought I'd start this off by saying that I most definitely feel the same way. I hadn't been happy in a really long time and every time I tried to bring any form of joy into my life utterly failed, until I got my first letter from you. To be completely honest, I've been rather bewitched ever since. Everything about this experience makes me happy, and I can't thank you enough for it._

 _Just so you are aware, I do know what a record is, I've seen quite a few of those. I don't however know what jazz is, I'm going to assume it's a type of music. I've also heard many stories about films but have never actually seen one. I'm not sure how they work or what they really are even but if you like them I'm sure they're wonderful. Knitting I do know and that is a feat in and of itself._

 _But I do want to know more little things like that about you, they make me feel like I actually know you when sadly I am deprived of your material friendship. I'll start; I realized recently that I never eat lunch because of how my work schedule works out, by the time I'm on break it's too late in the day to eat lunch without looking ridiculous, but then I realized that when I have a day off I still don't eat lunch. I eat rather large breakfasts (I also really like breakfast food so that might be why I pride breakfast over lunch) and I always make sure I sit down for dinner because my day feels slightly off-kilter if I don't. I don't think I like lunch. I'm not sure if I do or not because I honestly can't remember the last time I had a lunch. Is that unhealthy? I feel this is something you would have an opinion on._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Draco read it over once more before deciding it was satisfactory and looked up to see Henry waiting patiently at his window. He folded up the parchment and sent Henry on his way.

He collapsed on his bed in slight panic at the fact that he had fallen in love with someone he had never even met. He knew his father would have called him ridiculous and a lot of his old friends would have too. Then again, they didn't know what love was. His father didn't know how to love and Draco was convinced of that. Crabbe and Goyle were both wankers who weren't mature enough to appreciate women beyond their bodies.

Draco didn't necessarily think it was a mistake, he just didn't think it was the smartest thing he had ever done. He wanted to meet her to know for sure. He didn't want to be shallow, but he hoped she was pretty. She sounded pretty. Actually, she sounded gorgeous, but he still hoped he would think that after seeing her in person.

He just hoped he wasn't making a fool of himself. He was head over heels for her, but did she feel even remotely the same way about him? She had said that his letters made her happy and that she was always excited to read them, but you can be just as excited about a letter from a dear friend as you can be about a letter from a lover, so that was no sure sign of her affections. So Draco simply sighed in confusion and decided that if he was going to have a weird day after all he might as well go eat some lunch.

Hermione sat at her kitchen table eating a bowl of leftover lasagne from Thursday night and being completely lost in thought. She had fallen in love with her pen pal, who she had never met in person and who she didn't even know the name of, all while still being in some sort of a relationship with Ron. She didn't want to be unfaithful to Ron, he had been her best friend for years and he had been a good boyfriend and he did not deserve to be cheated on. Then again, was she really cheating? It wasn't as if she had gone and slept with another man, she hadn't even laid eyes on the other man. If she was going to break things off with Ron she would have to do it for reasons other than her odd relationship with her pen pal. She would sit him down tomorrow evening and tell him that she didn't think their relationship was going anywhere. That was a perfectly rational and acceptable reason to break up with someone.

Ten minutes later, she had flicked on a Cary Grant film that she was already not paying attention to as she mulled over what she was going to say to Ron in her head. _We aren't growing as a couple, we aren't even really acting as a couple anymore… We're pretty much just dating because it was what people expected from us… You deserve romance and that's not what this is…_

She wasn't sure how far into her movie she was when Henry was tapping at her window for the second time today. She glanced at the clock, 12:08. Her stranger must have been home to receive her letter this morning. She made her way to the window, slightly nervous for an unknown reason, reaching out to grab the letter from Henry. She sat down as she unfolded the familiar parchment and began to read:

 _Dear Stranger…_

Hermione grinned wildly at his charming unfamiliarity with the Muggle world and his endearing observation of his eating habits that made her chuckle slightly. But what really had her captivated was the first paragraph. " _I've been bewitched ever since."_ Her breathe caught in her lungs and her heart jumped up into her throat when she read that. She read it over and over again trying to decide if it was real, if it actually meant something. She had come to the lovely conclusion that it was, given that he was a very sincere person and didn't seem the type to lead a lady on. She held the letter to her heart and breathed out slowly. She debated whether she should answer him now or save it for tomorrow morning since Ron wouldn't be home until later. She decided that she better put the adrenaline rushing through her blood to good use.

 _Dear Stranger…_


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear Stranger,_

 _I don't think it's unhealthy exactly, as long as you feel sufficiently fed and are getting enough to hold you throughout the day, I think eating two large meals instead of three medium meals is perfectly acceptable. I guess I truly do have an opinion on everything (my friends always say I do). I'm glad you want to know more things about me, it warms my heart to hear it. Here is my interesting fact for this letter:_

 _My favorite day of the week is Wednesday. I quite like Sundays too since I have them off of work but I don't think that is a good enough reason to make that day your favorite. No, I like Wednesdays because the most seems to get done on those days. You've hit your mid-week stride. It's not a Monday where we're all groggy, and it's not Saturday when we're all waiting for Sunday with baited breath. On a Wednesday, you have gotten over your mourning of the weekend but you haven't started longing for it yet. Therefore your mind is free of it's timely distractions and you are most capable of getting things done and having a generally splendid day._

 _Also, jazz is a wonderful type of music which you would probably like very much. It's energetic but also quite beautiful and classic. My father loved jazz music and passed that love along to me. It's very soothing and it reminds me of him._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

 _P.S. I know this is very untoward but, would you like to meet?_

Draco had received his last letter of the day right before bed, but now he was too stunned and too exhilarated to sleep. He had lost his grip on the letter as soon as he had read the last sentence. His perfectly devised plan to meet her after breaking off with Pansy was shattered into pieces. He couldn't deny her, of course he wanted to meet her. He wanted to meet her more than anything else in the world, but he couldn't very well do that if he was still connected to Pansy.

He had no clue what to do. He didn't want to write to her late at night. And poor Henry had had quite the go of things today. No, he would wait until tomorrow and take the day to mindlessly do his job while thinking irrepressibly about her.

It was 2:15 when Pansy had walked into his clerk office at the Ministry sporting high heels that could kill you and a well-practiced sneer to match.

"Draco, I know this is the _last_ thing you want to hear," he noted the obvious sarcasm in her voice as she paused for dramatic effect, "but I want to cut things off a bit early between us."

The relief and joy Draco felt welling up inside him was completely unmatched. He could probably cast a Patronus with just sheer force of will after hearing that. "Can I ask why? Not that I'm at all mad about it but just curious."

"I'm headed to Paris for a few months because I feel like it, and I'd rather not be tied down." The aristocracy in her voice was thick even though her tone was breezy and careless. He had never abhorred a person more, besides the Dark Lord himself.

"Well, have fun then. Things will surely be more enjoyable here without you around." He said with a sardonic smile.

"Thanks love." She smiled mockingly in return and then clicked away down the hall. Once she was out of sight, Draco collapsed into his chair in breathless relief. He was free. He was free of Pansy Parkinson and all of her inexplicable awfulness. He had been waiting for this moment for almost two years, and to think it had come so unexpectedly and anticlimactically. And with perfect timing. How had he gotten so inexplicably lucky? He had understood his stranger's argument for Wednesdays being the best day and he had generally agreed with her, but right now, Mondays were pretty great.

The minute Draco exited the fireplace he made a mad dash for his bedroom, flinging his case across the room the minute he entered the large double doors and sprinting to his desk. He slid into the chair with a large thud and composed himself. He pulled out his quill and parchment and started off with the usual:

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I would love to meet you. When? Where? I can hardly contain my excitement now that I know you want to meet me too. I've been wanting to ask you for weeks but I didn't want to frighten you. I spent my entire day at work thinking about it and thinking about you. I hope my enthusiasm isn't making you regret your decision._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

 _P.S. I think it's absolutely brilliant that you have a favorite day of the week._

Draco looked to his window to see Henry waiting faithfully. He took a deep breath and walked to the window while folding up the parchment gingerly. He unlatched the window and looked Henry cautiously in the eye.

"The rest of my life and future happiness depends on you getting this letter to her. But you haven't failed me yet so I have plenty of hope. Good luck, Henry." He placed the letter in Henry's talons and watched with a slightly nervous stomach as Henry flew off into the distance.

The minute Hermione got home from work she could feel her heart pounding in her chest harder than it had all day. She was going to break up with Ron tonight and she still wasn't entirely sure what to say or how to go about it. She didn't want to hurt Ron, he was still one of her best friends and she cared about him deeply. She just didn't want to be in a relationship with him anymore.

Her hands were starting to tremble a bit as she took off her scarf and hung it all up on the coatrack. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and took a deep breath. She wondered how he would react and dearly hoped that this would not end badly.

"Ron!?" Hermione called down the hallway.

"Hello, dear!" Ron said as he made his way out of the bedroom. "How was work?"

"Work was fine, nothing exciting. You?"

"It was okay. Speaking of okay, you don't look it. What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and looked him the eye. "Ron, we need to talk."

"Oh dear," he gulped and followed her to the table and sat down across from her.

"Ron, you know I love you dearly, right?"

"Well this can't be good, but yes I am aware."

"Listen, while you were away this weekend I got to seriously thinking about us and our relationship, and realized that it isn't even really anything at all anymore. We don't talk very much and we hardly spend any time together other than when we're home at the same time. I don't even think we're romantically interested in each other anymore, at this point we're literally just flatmates." She took a quick breath and tried to remember what all had ran through her head last night. "This isn't romance anymore, and it hasn't been for a long time. After the War, we just ended up together because people thought we would and we figured the same. Ron, I'm sorry, but I don't feel anything more than friendship for you now. I did love you romantically once, I definitely did, and I still love you but- but not as my boyfriend. Please don't be angry."

Ron took a deep breath, his eyes were locked onto the table and he bit his lip with hesitation. "I'm not angry with you 'Mione. I especially could never be angry with you for being honest with me. Now that I'm thinking about it, we really haven't acted at all like a couple the past few months. I can't remember the last time we went on a date or anything." He finally looked her in the eye, his voice full of sincerity. "I think we're making the right decision in breaking up, I'm assuming that's what this is even though it hasn't been explicitly mentioned," Hermione nodded, "We can still be friends though, right?"

"Oh of course, Ron. I hope we'll always be friends."

"Good." He smiled. "I suppose I should probably move out then." He got up out of his chair and began to turn around, "Did I ever actually move in? Or did I just sort of settle here?"

"You just sort of settled here. I didn't mind though."

"Well I'm glad you didn't mind. If my mum heard that I had just made myself at home, well she would certainly mind." He said with a warm chuckle. He made his way to the bedroom and started taking his clothes out of the closet and his things off the bedside table. Hermione looked about the living area to see if he'd left anything else. Ron cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on a rucksack and started dropping things in.

About 30 minutes later, after a thorough search of the bathroom and living area for any of his other possessions, Ron was standing in the doorway, his rucksack over his shoulder and a small smile on his face.

"Well I'm sure I'll see you soon 'Mione."

"I'm sure we shall." She smiled up at him.

"Before I go can I ask one more question?" She nodded. "I don't intend this to be rude and I know you would never cheat but, is there someone else?"

"Well, no. No, not really. There is the hope of someone else, though."

"Well I hope you find him."

"Thank you. I mean it. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Ron smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek in farewell. "And thank you too." He departed down the flight of stairs without another word, Hermione watched him go and then slowly retreated back into her flat.

With almost unfathomably good timing, Henry perched on the window sill just as Hermione was closing the front door behind her.

"Henry, how on earth do you do that?" She shook her head in astonishment while making her way across the apartment in complete relief and an innate feeling of freedom. She let Henry in for a treat and sat down at her desk as she unfolded the letter. Her breath caught in her throat as she read:

 _Dear Stranger…_

In a flurry of thoughts and emotions, Hermione jumped out of her chair and started hastening about the living room like a madman. She feld her palm to her forehead in disbelief and complete elation. She could hardly believe he had agreed. But then it struck her, why ever would he not agree? He seemed just as infatuated with her as she was with him and there was no reason, besides breaking a few unimportant Medicinal Mail rules, that they should not meet.

She sat back down at her desk and immediately started a new letter.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I was thinking The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, next Sunday? Possibly around 2:00?_

 _Your excitement doesn't deter me a bit, because I am just, if not more so, as excited as you are._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Hannah had suggested The Three Broomsticks this morning when she had told them what she had sent. The only people she had told about her stranger were Colin and Hannah and she kept them regularly updated, at their own request, of all the goings-on between the two of them. Colin had suggested months ago that she end things with Ron, but she had paid no attention to this as she had thought it quite absurd. Why she had thought it absurd she had no idea, she had probably been in denial that she was having a letter-writing affair-of-sorts with another man.

Hermione smiled from ear to ear as she folded the parchment and sent it on its way with Henry. She watched as he flew away into the darkening sky.

* * *

Hi guys! Just an author's note to let you know that after I put up the 5th chapter I'll be updating possibly daily maybe weekly until I get the last two chapters finished. I wanted to make sure I had a majority of it finished before sharing so that there would be plenty to read. Hope you're enjoying it so far! Feel free to give reviews, I'd love to hear what you guys think! ~abbey


	5. Chapter 5

Draco awoke on Tuesday to a bit of drizzle on the window panes and a familiar Eastern Screech on the window sill.

"Morning Henry." Draco said as he opened the window to let Henry in from the cold and to collect his letter. He opened the cold and slightly damp letter with unparalleled expectation.

 _Dear Stranger…_

The Three Broomsticks. A bit too public for his taste but at least a familiar environment. He wondered if she knew about The Three Broomsticks because she had been a Hogwarts student. It was a popular pub so he wouldn't be surprised if she had just thought it a good location. Then again, if she was a witch living somewhere in London she must have attended Hogwarts. Unless for some reason she attended Beauxbatons. Had she been in his year and he had simply not noticed her? He probably would have known her if she had been a Slytherin, even if she had been a year ahead or behind.

His mind was reeling through the possibilities while he jotted down the time and place on his calendar, not that he would forget but rather to be official and remind him that it was real. Then it occurred to him; when he walked into The Three Broomsticks on Sunday at 2:00, how on earth would he know which one was her? Dear Merlin.

He pulled out a quill and parchment.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _That sounds wonderful. I can't wait. But it just occurred to me, how will I know which one you are? It may prove to be rather awkward if I just walk about asking random girls in a bar if they're my stranger._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Draco folded the parchment as always and sent it off with Henry before starting his morning routine.

It was just turning to light outside his window when he had gotten out of the shower. Draco smiled as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. "In a week's time, you'll be even happier than you are now. Imagine that." He said to himself. He pulled a towel over his head to dry his platinum blonde hair. He dressed in sensible all-black suit before deciding it looked much too dark for his mood. He didn't have much in the way of color, but he changed into a grey shirt. He looked at his reflection once more. "Well, I suppose that's a bit more cheerful." He threw his black robe on over the top and grabbed his case before setting off towards the fireplace.

Halfway down the stairs, something stopped him. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it felt like something being lifted off of his shoulders. Loneliness. He had had the entire manor to himself for nine months now. His father was serving a life sentence in Azkaban for crimes against the wizarding world and association with the Dark Lord. His mother served a year of house arrest but she refused to remain in the Manor after and instead took up residence in France. After the many crimes that had been committed in the Manor during the War- " _many of them in this very room"_ he thought to himself- she decided she did not want to return to a place so foul. It wasn't until this very moment that he realized he didn't want to be there either.

This house was large and empty and cold and full of terrible memories he never wanted to remember. He shivered as he reluctantly recalled Hermione Granger being tortured on the marble floor in front of him, screaming in pain as his aunt stood above her wielding her wand in maniacal laughter. Him, standing there stone-faced and useless. He had to get out of this house. There was no reason for him to stay. He no longer cared about upholding the glorious name of Malfoy. There were parts of the house he hadn't even been to in the past nine months. All he needed was a kitchen and a bedroom. Why pay for the upkeep of the Manor when you weren't even properly utilizing it?

He made an impulsive decision right then and there that he wanted it gone. He wanted the Manor gone. It held too many painful memories and it was a useless building. If he destroyed the Manor he would still own the lands and he could have his own new home built on top of the dust of the old one. It could have light. Lots of light. And colors besides black and silver. It would be like a physical representation of his own life. He nodded to himself in approval of his idea and continued down the stairs and into the fireplace. It was going to be a good day at work.

Hermione was just about to leave for the shop when Henry showed up at her window. She made her way across the room and opened the window to a much chillier day than she had expected and took the letter from Henry. She didn't bother sitting as she imagined the letter would be quick and she'd have to be off soon anyways. She unfolded it expecting a simple "sounds great", but instead:

 _Dear Stranger…_

Her hand flew to her forehead in exasperation and she berated herself for not thinking of that. How had she, the brightest witch of her age, not thought of that? Too caught up in the moment she supposed. She sat down at her chair and wrote down the first thing she could think of:

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I'll be carrying a copy of Hamlet, red-leather bound with gold filigree lettering, and I'll be wearing my favorite jumper, which is a light periwinkle blue._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Quite content but realizing she had just narrowed down her choices of attire significantly, she folded up the letter, handed it off to Henry, and set out the door for work. She was giddy with excitement the whole two-block walk to the apparition point and could not seem to pry the smile off of her face.

She had to throw her left shoulder into the backdoor to get it to budge as the cold weather was not being kind to it. She entered the shop and was quite surprised to see that both Hannah and Colin had already showed up and were almost done getting the shop ready.

"Good to see you finally decided to show up." Said Colin with a sarcastic smile. "What took ya so long?"

"Got another letter this morning." She gave a wry smile in their direction as she hung up her coat and saw them visibly lean forward to hear more.

"Please tell me it's good news. It usually is but you seem uncommonly happy this morning." Said Hannah.

"You are quite right. I ended things with Ron last night." They both gasped loudly, Colin obviously pleased with himself. "I realized there was no reason to continue a relationship that wasn't going anywhere and that I am much too interested in my stranger to give any other man my full romantic attention."

"So did you tell your mystery man that you're back on the market yet?" Asked Colin.

"He didn't even know I was off the market in the first place. I never told him about Ron because I never told Ron about him so I didn't think it was necessary. But I did use my leftover adrenaline from a very successful and not at all unpleasant breakup to work up the courage to ask him to meet me."

"You're kidding!" Hannah practically screamed with delight. "You asked him to meet you? Susan Bones will be furious, or possibly ecstatic that she doesn't have to deal with you anymore."

"I'm guessing a bit of both." Said Colin. "But what did he say?"

"He agreed. We're meeting on Sunday at 2:00. At The Three Broomsticks." Hermione smiled as she added the last bit.

"Really?! Hermione I will be there for you the entire time, of course there to support you incase it goes awry but mainly to see what all goes down. I mean I'll practically own it by Sunday." Hannah was obviously very pleased that her soon-to-be business would be their meeting place.

"If you think for a second that I'm missing this, you are entirely wrong. Hannah, can you give me a back table so I can observe from a safe distance?"

"Indeed I can, I might even join you."

Hermione laughed at their banter before pushing past them towards the counter. "Come on you two, Tuesdays are our busiest." Colin and Hannah unwillingly pulled themselves from their spot at the end of the counter and got to work.

Draco was about halfway through his day at the Ministry when Harry Potter walked into the clerk's office. He and Harry had been working together for the past six months and had developed a rather modest friendship. Draco had apologized to Harry right before he was sent off to Azkaban and Harry had been very forgiving. They chatted quite often and had even gotten coffee together once when their break times matched up. It was odd being friends with Harry after so many years of being enemies, but Draco enjoyed it. He didn't have many friends. He had stayed somewhat connected to Blaise Zabini and he had become sort of friendly with Dean Thomas when Dean had worked as a clerk before going into Auror training, but other than that Draco had chosen to leave his other "friends" behind.

"Hello, Draco." Harry said with a genuine smile. "You seem happy today."

Draco was a bit surprised. He had changed his shirt, yes, but other than that he wasn't sure what about him looked happy. "Really?" He asked.

"Yeah," Harry seemed a bit taken aback at Draco's question. "You're smiling so I'm going to assume that means you're happy."

Draco was smiling, and it probably wouldn't stop any time soon.

"You aren't usually smiling so that's why I said it." Harry said.

"Well, I didn't have anything to be happy about until recently so I'm glad it shows." Draco said casually, not intending for that to continue on the conversation.

Harry looked interested now. "You meet a girl or something?" He asked casually.

"Sort of." Draco was a bit reluctant to tell Harry about his stranger. He almost was too afraid to tell anyone for fear of losing her.

"How do you sort of meet a girl?"

"Are you aware of Susan Bones' Medicinal Mail Initiative?"

"You mean that overly cheerful Hufflepuff who works for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes?"

Draco nodded in reply, "Well I joined about five months ago and I got assigned to a witch who lives somewhere in London. I didn't know if I was going to like writing letters to a random stranger but she's quite charming. We're meeting on Sunday and I can't say I'm not excited."

"Well that's quite the romance." Harry looked sincerely happy for him. "Where you guys meeting?"

"The Three Broomsticks."

"What's this girl's name?" Harry asked.

Draco paused for a second. "I don't know."

"What? You don't know her name? How do you not know her name?" Harry was utterly bewildered.

"Medicinal Mail is like a secretive pen pals program, you're not supposed to know any personal information about the other person that could give away their identity. That way you feel free to discuss emotional and deep personal things with them. It was to help people get over their depression after the War."

"That makes sense, but you're still mad. How are you supposed to know who she is when you get to The Three Broomsticks if you don't know her name, much less I imagine, what she looks like?"

"I don't know yet." Harry looked understandably shocked. "I sent her a letter this morning asking about that very thing and I'm assuming I'll hear from her tonight when I get home."

"Good, because I expect to hear more about this tomorrow when I find my way down here." Harry looked at him with admonishment in his eyes and expectancy in his stare.

"Fine." Draco said after a moment hesitation.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow then, Draco." Harry gave him a friendly smile as he exited the room.

Draco couldn't help but smile a bit more. He had a friend who actually cared about his life and what was happening in it. That made him finish out the day with even more confidence than he had come in with, which he had thought almost completely impossible. It had been a good week for him, and it was only getting better.

Draco got home a tad bit later than usual, which only made him more anxious to get to his room and see if Henry was waiting for him. Sure enough, Henry was at his window with a letter in his talons. Draco hastened across the room and retrieved the letter, unfolding as he made his way to his desk. He began to read.

 _Dear Stranger…_

Periwinkle blue. Of course that was the color of her favorite jumper. He remembered she had mentioned periwinkle as her favorite color in an earlier letter when she had rambled off a few of her favorite generic things. He remembered her saying her favorite type of tea was jasmine and that her favorite Muggle book was Pride and Prejudice because she admired the heroine. He could picture her now sitting at a little wooden table at The Three Broomsticks in a soft periwinkle blue jumper.

However, whenever he pictured her when he was reading her letters, he never had a clear picture in his head. It was always the defined shape of a woman but the face was always blurry and he could never identify a hair color or anything. The strange thing was that he really had no guesses to what she looked like. He didn't think she could be any one hair or eye color over the other. The only thing he knew suited her was a very friendly smile, small, but friendly and welcoming. And that was the only thing he was sure about.

He realized he was quite lovesick, he really could not wait to meet this girl as the certainty that he would once again function as a normal human being again was resting upon this. He was quite sure that he would be in this daze of his for the rest of the week. Considering he had all of Saturday off, he had no idea what he would do with himself the whole day as there would be no work to occupy his thoughts. He supposed he could just write her an awful lot of letters to come home to but figured that might be odd.

He decided that he would spend the day going through the Manor and deciding what needed to be kept and what could be donated and such. He wanted to start his project and that was perfect way to keep his nervous subconscious in check.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione had been sitting down for dinner when Henry arrived at her window. She retrieved the letter and brought it back to the table with her as she started in on a bowl of pasta.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _The only thing going through my head is an image of you in a periwinkle jumper, sitting across from me smiling at The Three Broomsticks. Hopefully you will be smiling when we meet, I'd rather not be a disappointment. I have been wondering though, what will happen to poor Henry once we've met? Will we be brave enough to tell Susan Bones that we directly disobeyed her orders and that we will no longer be in need of a Ministry owl? Now that I think about it actually, I don't have an owl. I didn't need one until Medicinal Mail and I rather like Henry and would hate to part with him._

 _Also, I wanted to tell you, I had a friend at work today ask me why I was so happy as of late and he was shocked to say the least when I explained why. (He thinks it's mad that I don't know your name or anything but I think not knowing is part of the fun, and it definitely makes meeting more suspenseful and ultimately exciting.) He's one of the only friends I have and it felt good to tell someone. He's the only person that knows. At least from my perspective, I am a bit curious though, have you told anyone? (Did they think that you're mad too?)_

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

She pondered the Henry situation a bit after reading the first paragraph. Maybe she could be brave and somehow convince Susan Bones to let her and him adopt Henry? She was a bit concerned seeing as Henry had become a fairly important part of her life. She didn't have an owl either and Henry was a brilliant flyer and an exceedingly smart bird. She decided she would tackle this issue later after she finished the rest of the letter and her dinner.

She felt a bit bad that he had so little in the way of friends. She'd have to introduce him to Harry and Ron. Well, maybe not Ron. Ron had taken the breakup surprisingly well but he may not take the news of a new man in her life so soon quite as well. Nonetheless, Harry would surely love her stranger, though he may be a bit irked by the fact that she hadn't told him. She had wanted to, she really had, but she knew Harry wouldn't like to keep something from Ron that was a detriment to their relationship. She had told Hannah and Colin, not only because she trusted them and loved them dearly, but because she had been positively desperate to tell her secret to someone. It was exciting and some days it was hard to keep a smile off her face, which Hannah and Colin had noticed and obviously inquired after.

She finished up her pasta and did the dishes before heading to her desk to write her reply:

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I'll see what I can do about Henry, I may be able to convince Susan Bones to let us adopt him or something. She's quite a lenient person if you nudge her in the right direction. I would also be truly distraught to see Henry go as he's become a very important part of my life._

 _To answer your question, yes I have told people. Only two, though. My two co-workers. It was hard to keep it from them as they're very intuitive and we all work in particularly close proximity to one another. I'm fairly certain they could feel the happiness radiating off of me like heat at some point. At first they thought it was a bit odd but at this point they are as enthralled with the whole ordeal as I am. They ask for updates frequently and were ecstatic to hear that I had finally bucked up the courage to ask you to meet me._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

She handed the letter off to Henry and realized as the bird flew off into the clouds that that was one of the last letters she would write him as a stranger. In a matter of days, they would know each other and she would be able sign _Yours, Hermione_ instead. She couldn't wait to meet him. She had imagined many times in the past two days that once they met, everything in life would just fall into place and she would be perfectly content. She certainly hoped she wasn't wrong.

Draco had woken up to Henry pecking at his window and had sat down early after getting ready that morning to reply to her letter.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I'm glad to hear that they weren't too shocked and generally accepting. I've been thinking lately about how I'm going to tell my mother about all this. She'll be quite baffled and possibly a bit cross. I love my mum but she's always been quite a stickler for tradition. If she knew I had been talking to a perfect stranger for many months without knowing who they really were she would be shocked at my behavior. If I told her I had decided to meet you without even knowing your name, she would probably fall ill of pure mortification. I had been a stickler for tradition (at least traditional romance, if you don't mind the boldness of that term) till we started writing._

 _Anyways I had another thing I wanted to address. I realized this morning as I was getting ready that I have very little in the way of casual clothing. You own a periwinkle jumper but I'm afraid all I own is a variety of darkly colored suits and robes. I only own what many consider to be strictly work clothing as it was all I needed in school and now that I'm out of school, I'm in work. So I've had no opportunity to wear anything different. The only non-work clothing I own are two jumpers that are different shades of grey, some black and white t-shirts, and sleepwear. I think that's ridiculous and I'm wondering what you might recommend to me clothing wise. I'd say I have a good sense of what looks good, as someone raised by my mother ought to, but I'd like to know what you like. You probably don't want to constantly see me in a tie and coat._

 _Until we write again_ ,

 _Your Stranger_

He sent the letter off with Henry before traipsing over to his closet and looking in with dismay. He really had no clue what to buy clothing wise. He assumed a few more jumpers would be appropriate as it was fall and only going to get colder. He didn't want to come across as the purebred Malfoy like he had in school and he didn't want to look like all he did was work. Maybe a pair of jeans as well. He didn't want his wardrobe to look so very wizarding. She seemed to be very intune with the Muggle world so he assumed she was a halfblood or a Muggle born. To think, well over two years ago, considering the time he had been questioning his beliefs, he would have scoffed at the idea of dating anyone less than pureblooded. Now, he didn't even mind the fact that this girl could very well be Muggle born. He had given up on blood purity and all the pretentious and cruel beliefs his father had worked into him his whole life.

Come to think of it, the moment he had forgone his long-held belief that Muggle borns were inferior was when he had watched Hermione Granger being tortured. He had never felt such immense guilt in his entire life. To think he had thought about that twice this week, he had spent his entire year in Azkaban trying to expel that thought and the like from his head.

Draco glanced up at the clock which read quarter to seven. He grabbed his cloak and case and headed towards the fireplace.

Hermione had left the flat at half past six so she could get things done around the shop. It was Wednesday after all, and that was when she was most productive. She hadn't received any letter from her stranger that morning and assumed if he had sent something, Henry would be there soon and the poor thing would be waiting in the cold all day. That had unfortunately occurred to her after she had arrived at the shop, so she couldn't prop the window open so he could steal away from the chilly breeze.

She was in the middle of counting out Colin and Hannah's paychecks so she could pay them later that day when Hannah showed up.

"Morning 'Mione!" She flung her coat up on the rack and quickly made her way across the room to the counter. "Any news from mystery man?"

"Nothing terribly exciting, besides if something had happened, Colin would kill me if I told you without him."

"True." Hannah sighed. "Anyways, I meant to ask if you're looking to hire my replacement? I know you think you and Colin can handle the work but I still think three is better than two at this place."

"I agree actually, plus with days like yesterday, three is definitely a better idea."

"Indeed, and Colin would occasionally have to take sick days or something and you'd be stuck here all alone."

"That's true," Hermione bit her lip, "I do think I'll have to put out for a new employee by the end of the week, I'd rather not be stuck with only Colin for a frightfully long amount of time. The sooner the better. Anyways, you're getting paid today which means I'm closing the shop a bit early so Colin and I can come with you to The Three Broomsticks to witness the final down payment. Don't think for a minute that we wouldn't be there to see this, especially if you and Colin intend to spy on me Sunday."

Hannah grinned a pearly white smile and laughed, "I do suppose it's only fair. I'd love to have the support. And we can celebrate afterwards."

Colin made his way into the shop just then, "What are you two on about? You seem very giddy."

"Colin, we're closing the shop early to witness Hannah's purchase of The Three Broomsticks." Hermione replied.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Colin smiled as he hung his coat. Hermione flipped the sign from 'CLOSED' to 'OPEN' and their day began.

Harry Potter made his way to the clerk's office around lunch time and, as expected, found Draco buried in a mountain of paperwork up to his eyeballs.

"You've got to sort all this?" Harry asked, Draco had apparently not heard him enter the room and looked up at him from behind a particularly large stack.

"Sadly, yes, but it's not all bad, it goes fairly quickly."

"Good to hear, anyways you know what I came for, how's your lady friend? Hear anything from her yesterday?" Harry perched himself on the corner of a desk and watched expectantly as Draco tucked away a file.

"I did, she said she'll be carrying a very distinctive copy of Hamlet and wearing a periwinkle blue jumper." Draco answered still facing the shelves of files and trying to track down the spot of another folder. Harry had been looking at a scattering of papers beside him, but his head shot up when he heard Draco's reply.

"What do you mean by distinctive copy of Hamlet?" He asked rather hastily.

"Red-leather bound with gold filigree lettering, why do you ask?" Draco seemed unperturbed at Harry's response.

"Just wondering how a copy of Hamlet can be so very distinctive." What had really gotten him was the periwinkle sweater, Hermione's favorite color was periwinkle and Mrs. Weasley had knitted her a jumper last Christmas in the color. It was her favorite jumper and she wore it quite a lot. The copy of Hamlet he was a little less sure of, not that he didn't think Hermione owned a copy of Hamlet, of course she did, but he couldn't remember if she owned a copy that looked like that. Then again, Hermione owned so many books he doubt he could remember it even if he tried.

He doubted the girl was Hermione, but Draco had said she lived somewhere in London, which Hermione did, and Hermione had broken up with Ron earlier this week which had seemed rather out of the blue even though Harry himself had not been surprised. Things had been good between Hermione and Ron as of late and he had expected a breakup after one of their usual bouts of fighting.

"Can I come with you on Sunday?" Draco turned around utterly astonished. "I want to see what this girl looks like and you could use a cover in case she doesn't show or turns out to be horrid."

"She's not going to be horrid, and she would never jilt me like that. She's not the type."

"You never know, she could get cold feet."

Draco looked slightly put off, "Fine you can come. I'm going to be a nervous wreck anyways."

"Good, thank you. I'm curious to see how this ends up."

Draco set down his handful of papers on the table in front of him and plopped down on the desk chair, "Potter, this girl is the most charming and delightful creature I have ever come in contact with. If I have my wits about me on Sunday, which I'm sure I will knowing that you'll be watching me the whole time, I'll restrain myself from doing anything too terribly stupid. If not I wouldn't think twice before asking this girl to marry me. She's perfect."

Harry was slightly stunned, Draco had never been forward with him like this before and he was honestly happy that he was being so open. Harry cared about his friendship with Draco, he wanted to mend the years of ill will between the two of them and he was trying to show that he cared by asking to go Sunday. Of course he was also incredibly curious and a bit suspicious, but he also wanted to be there to support his friend, especially since Draco had really no one else.

"Marry her? You would ask a girl you don't even know the name of to marry you?"

"It's more of an expression of my severity of feelings than an actual true statement. I'd like to get married someday though, and I'd like it to be her."

"What if you two meet and you realize you don't like her?"

"Well then that's incredibly unfortunate, but I also think it's incredibly unlikely."

Harry sighed, "Well okay then, I'll meet you in front of The Three Broomsticks at 2:00." Harry began to make his way out of the office before Draco spoke up.

"Potter?" Harry turned, "Thanks for doing this." Harry nodded in reply. Draco was sincere, he needed a friend and Harry was glad he could be that for him.

Hermione had just bustled the last few customers out of the shop while Colin and Hannah quickly locked everything up. They all got their coats on and locked the back door behind them.

"Goodbye, Flourish and Blotts. It was a pleasure working here." Hannah said as she smiled looking up at the building. She turned around and grasped hands with Hermione and Colin, and in a split second they were gone.

They arrived in front of The Three Broomsticks and Hermione squeezed Hannah's hand in hers before letting go, and following the other two into the pub. Madam Rosmerta spotted Hannah immediately and rushed out from behind the counter.

"Hannah! Come upstairs I've got the paperwork all laid out!" They all followed behind Rosmerta up the stairs in the back of the restaurant and sat themselves in small tea room which Rosmerta had all packed up.

The two ladies sat across from each other as Hannah signed some paperwork and handed over an envelope with the rest of her payment enclosed. She was officially the owner of The Three Broomsticks.

"Hooray for Hannah! Now let's go celebrate." Colin said as he made his way out the door, down the stairs, and sat himself at the bar.

After about two hours of celebrating with Hannah, Colin, and Madam Rosmerta, Hermione had finally made her way home. She had thankfully not collapsed on the sofa before getting her letter from Henry otherwise she may not have been able to get up again. She didn't drink alcohol so she wasn't drunk, just especially tired and overexerted from all the celebrating.

She grabbed the letter from Henry and watched as he flew away before making her way to her bedroom. She changed into pajamas and got comfortable under her covers before unfolding the letter. She smiled at what she assumed to be one of the last times he would address her as such.

 _Dear Stranger…_

Hermione laughed at his adorable consideration of his clothes as improper. She would have been fine to see him arrive in a suit. Then again it would be quite boring to date (was she being too presumptuous by using that term?) someone who always wore the same thing. She didn't have a specific way she imagined her stranger. She didn't think he looked like anything in particular. When she imagined him all she saw was a male form before her but nothing specific. She did like the way Colin dressed, and elderly women who stopped in often told her that she and Colin would look positively charming together, to which they both gagged. She liked men who dressed intelligently, but not pretentiously. The thought of a young Draco Malfoy in a black suit crossed her mind. Harry had told her that they had become quite friendly and she wondered for a moment what else Malfoy was up to these days.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco went into work on Thursday morning already impatient to get the day over with. He wanted it to be Sunday and it was shaping up to be the longest week of his life. If he received a letter from his stranger early enough in the day, he may find the time to go get some new clothes and take his mind off the fact that there were still two days between now and Sunday. He was a hallway away from his office when Harry popped up out of nowhere.

"Morning, Draco. Any news from your lady friend?"

"Is that the only reason you're friends with me, Potter? So you can stay updated on my love life?"

"I will admit I'm more than curious, but in complete honesty, I've never seen anything make Draco Malfoy quite as relatable. I've never seen you truly like a girl before, we all know Pansy was a sham, so it's refreshing to see you so flustered."

"Glad to hear it. But I've never liked a girl like this before because I've never met a girl as simply wonderful as she is. I think I might be going a bit mad but I don't really mind."

"You sound sort of like a giddy teenage girl. Like you've spent the past two days picking out an outfit and drawing up notecards of possible sentence starters." Harry said as he followed Draco into the clerk's office.

"Well not notecards, but I did realize yesterday that all I own is suits and I'd really like to wear something a little less formal and something that doesn't scream "All I do is work" quite as loudly as my wardrobe does."

"Fair point." Harry had perched himself on the same desk as the day before and took a bite out of an apple he had grabbed before leaving the house. "Just get a jumper and some jeans, girls like a man who looks comfortable and put together. At least that's what they tell me." Harry looked smug and Draco looked thoroughly unamused.

"Should I let Ginny know that you're taking fashion advice from other women?"

"Okay fine, Ginny's the only person who tells me what to wear." Harry answered grudgingly.

"Good to know, nonetheless." Draco started in on sorting out files.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. You've got a lot of work ahead of you." Harry said as he looked at the mile-high stacks of folders against the opposing wall before heading out the door.

It was the first day at the shop without Hannah and Hermione was already feeling the loss heavily. The shop had only been open for two hours now but she realized that splitting the work between two people instead of three was a lot more work than she had originally thought. She needed to hire someone soon and the thought that a week was probably the minimum amount of time in which that could happen was killing her.

She made her way grudgingly through the day with Colin's much appreciated help and somehow made it home alive in the evening. Colin had promised to be on the lookout for promising new hirees throughout the week.

Hermione nearly collapsed in a heap of exhaustion the minute she entered her flat. She then realized she never got back to her stranger on his wardrobe dilemma. She had a new rush of energy and immediately made her way to her desk.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I'm honored that you feel the need to come to me for wardrobe advice. Although I'm sure you're very capable of dressing to the nines on your own, I'm flattered nonetheless. I will say I do love jumpers, I love them on men but I love them just in general as well. They give a sense of comfort and they make a person look welcoming and kind. And since it is fall, I'd recommend a coat. A stylish one with lots of pockets to hold things in (but of course not too many as that would be ridiculous), I always thought that would be useful especially when I was little. I would recommend a hat unless you think hats are a bad idea, which they usually are. I think I'm more so considering the weather at this point as it's supposed to be rather cold on Sunday. I'd like to add that I am the worst when it comes to fashion. My friends have been telling me for years that I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't believe them of course but I thought you ought to know._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Henry appeared at her window and she sent the letter off with him unceremoniously. She peeled off layers as she made her way to the bedroom. By the time she had kicked off her shoes and put on a more comfortable pair of pants, she practically melted into the mattress. She was happily asleep within minutes regardless of the fact that it was still somewhat light out and she hadn't eaten dinner.

Draco was surprised when he got home and there was no letter waiting for him. He shrugged to himself and supposed she may be rather busy and made his way to the kitchen. He had been teaching himself to be more self-sufficient and was gradually becoming a better cook. Breakfast food was a sinch, dinner was a bit more trying. He could do pasta and soup easily and was getting better at mashed potatoes, but he was still a sore excuse for a cook.

By the time he had cooked and eaten his dinner and walked lazily throughout the Manor looking for things to salvage, he eventually made his way up to his room and was delighted to see Henry waiting vigilantly at his window. He sat down, letter in hand, and smiled at her familiar script on the page.

 _Dear Stranger…_

Draco had no clue what to do. He knew what looked good but he had no idea what looked good to women. He was afraid he may have to ask Potter for help. Potter had managed to maintain a girlfriend for a few years now and that was impressive as is, but Potter was a well-dressed individual nowadays and Draco was willing to admit it. He decided that he would buck up the courage to ask for Potter's help and see what happened, the man was going to be tagging along Sunday after all so he might as well make himself useful.

Draco pulled out a quill and parchment and decided to pen a reply before hitting the sack.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I will definitely be taking your advice into account as I truly have no idea what looks good to your eyes. Hopefully I'll make an impression._

 _I'm currently agonizing over the fact that there are two whole days between now and when I finally get to meet you. I don't work on weekends and you only have Sunday off which means you will be happily preoccupied all of Saturday and I will have to find something to do so I don't go mad with anticipation. Hopefully I don't die of restlessness before 2:00 on Sunday._

 _Until we write again,_

 _Your Stranger_

Draco was dead tired, he had had a lot of work that day and he was tired of reading things. He folded up the parchment haphazardly and handed it off to Henry. He got situated beneath the covers and was out within minutes. A rather nice change actually since he'd spent the last two days up late thinking about her.

Hermione woke up Friday morning with very little will to get out of bed and even less will to go through the rest of her day. She was not looking forward to being horribly overworked at the shop and on top of that she wanted Friday to be over so it would be Saturday so she could wish that was over and it would be Sunday. She got out of bed and showered and ate a measly breakfast before pulling on black tights and a loose, grey, cotton dress. There was an author coming in for a signing today and therefore a lot of people so she wanted to look slightly more presentable than usual.

She pulled on her mustard colored scarf and her dark grey pea coat and was out the door. She made her way to the apparition point quicker than usual and was inside the shop within minutes. She pulled off her coat and started setting up a table in the alcove in the middle of the store. The backdoor barreled open and in came Colin.

"Morning, boss, need any help with that?" He asked.

"I'm good with the table but if you could start hauling in those stacks of books for signing that'd be great."

"Sure thing." He peeled off his coat before heaving a stack of what must have been fifteen books over to the table. "Who is this bloke again?" He picked up a copy of the book and examined it questioningly.

"Not a bloke, Ruby Dunqhurst. She's a very big deal among magizoologists apparently, I'd heard of her here and there but I'm not too familiar with her works. I tried reading this one," Hermione said as she picked up a book off the pile in front of her titled _Grindylows and Gargoyles,_ "but I hate to admit I just couldn't get into it. She's a good writer but I'm afraid I'm just not the fantastical creatures type."

"You campaign for the rights of house elves I'd say your pretty heavily ingrained in fantastical creatures." Colin said with heavy sarcasm.

Hermione looked at him disapprovingly. "I campaign for their rights because they deserve them, they are the only magical creature enslaved into eternal labor by wizards and that is simply unfair and quite frankly abominable. Plus, Care of Magical Creatures was never my strong suit so I stand by my statement."

" _Everything_ was your strong suit, Hermione. Everything IS your strong suit."

"That's sweet of you. But really, I could not get into her book. I don't know why because I love learning but I suppose I'd already learned all that at Hogwarts and didn't particularly enjoy it so there really was no need for it."

"That makes sense, why learn something twice?" Colin asked with a slightly mocking tone.

She rolled her eyes and punched his arm lightly. They got back to work setting up books in stacks by the little table and prepared to start what was inevitably a very long day.

Draco was hoping Potter would make his way to his office eventually but had pushed the thought to the back of his mind and given up by about midday. Of course that was when Potter decided to actually show up.

"Hello, Draco. Anything new to tell me." Harry said as he entered the clerk's office. He quite liked picking on Draco for his crush and was glad to see that the usually brooding man had found some happiness.

"Actually yes. I got a letter from her with very vague opinions on clothing and I think I may need your help, though I loathe to admit it."

"You'd like me to come shopping with you?" Harry asked, not at all bothered by the idea but he was curious as to why Draco thought he was a good person to seek fashion advice from. He was getting better in the fashion department but Ginny gave him lots of guidance. "I'd be up for that. Saturday I'm guessing?"

"Yeah if it works for you. I just really don't want to look like an idiot on Sunday."

"I wouldn't worry about your clothes doing that part." Harry said with a smirk. "But yeah I'd love to help."

Draco shook his head at Harry's comment. "Thanks, Potter. It means a lot to me that you're willing to help me out."

"Anything for a friend, right?"

Draco simply smiled in reply as Harry got up and made his way out of the office. He had a friend, and that made him exceptionally more happy.

Hermione finished another exhausting day and made her way back to her flat with weights in her shoes and bags under her eyes. She made her way to her desk and pulled out the letter she had not had time to respond to that morning. Her wheeled desk chair flew back a few feet when her weight fell into it. She unfolded the letter as she rolled back up to the desk.

 _Dear Stranger…_

She sighed as she realized there was only one more day to go and then she would finally know who this mysterious man was. She simply couldn't wait. She dragged out her parchment and quill set and started off a new letter:

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I do hope you don't die before I finally get to meet you. Then again, don't be surprised if the very same fate befalls me. I'm currently wincing at the idea of having to go through one more gruelling day of work. (Work has been gruelling lately because one of the three employees has now left for another venture, so things are quite literally hectic, but it's also gruelling to have to wait a whole nother day.)_

 _I realized that this is the last letter in which I will be addressing you as a stranger as I typically send you a letter this late which means you will either get it right before you go to bed or when you wake up in the morning. And by the time you reply I will be off at work and once I get home to receive your letter there will be no point in replying as I will only be hours away from seeing you. It's quite a nice thought._

 _Until we meet,_

 _Your Stranger_

She was quite pleased with her last letter. She didn't think it had to be of great importance but rather of deep satisfaction and closure. She was content. She turned to see Henry waiting patiently on her window sill and gave him the letter. This time she did watch as he flew off. Probably the last time she would do so. She was a very nostalgic and sentimental person so this was a great deal of emotion for her. She shrugged it off and called herself ridiculous a few times before heading to bed with excruciating anticipation for the following morning.

Draco received her last letter right before going to bed. He received it from Henry and promptly sat down at his desk for what he assumed to be one of the very last times he would do this. At least without knowing her identity. He opened up the letter to the usual:

 _Dear Stranger…_

He was only caught off guard by the way she signed off.

 _Until we meet…_

He really was meeting her. It felt so real now. Only a day away. He wondered how he was going to survive the entire day tomorrow. He didn't think he could. He wondered if he would even be able to sleep tonight. Or tomorrow night. Tomorrow night would certainly be impossible and he would be quite impressed with himself if he managed it. Nonetheless, he stuck the letter on his desk and made his way to bed. He had to at least try to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione woke up early and started her usual morning routine before realizing that it was Saturday and she had to be happy because tomorrow was Sunday and she couldn't wait for it to be Sunday. She dressed in a sensible pair of slimming black slacks and a deep red turtleneck jumper with a pair of oxfords. She looked at herself in the mirror, entirely pleased with her appearance. She grabbed her coat and scarf and set out for work with an uncanny smile on her face and skip in her step.

She got to the shop just about the same time as Colin, which was a first.

"You're here early, what's the rush?" She asked teasingly.

"I sort of crashed when I got home from work yesterday and went to bed so early that my body just went ahead and let me sleep the normal number of hours so I woke up at 3:00 and have been bright and chipper ever since. I can say that I've had probably the most productive morning of my life." He laughed but certainly did not seem happy with the outcome of his premature bedtime.

"Well I'm very sorry that you finally found the time to do something with your life. When you finally grow up and become an adult I'm sure you'll find it's somewhat refreshing and useful." She said as she sifted through a pile of books that had been left by one of the wingback chairs.

"Thanks for that, really makes me feel loved and appreciated." He said with an obviously joking snide tone.

"I'm sure you do." She laughed as she made her way to the front door to flip the little golden sign.

Draco woke a bit later than usual, 8:00 was late for him, but was soon hitting himself over the head for not wasting away more of the day in sleep. Now he had to somehow make his way through the entire day. Oh well. He was meeting Potter in Diagon Alley at 2:30 as they had arranged after work the previous day. Harry said he knew some good shops in a not-so-busy part of Muggle London where Draco could do his shopping and Harry would help him navigate the Muggle world.

Until then, he had plenty of time to do whatever he wanted. He got ready and dressed in his usual work clothes and headed down for breakfast by 9 o'clock. He made himself an omelette, which he was thoroughly proud of, before starting on a list of rooms to go through for the deconstruction process.

He set off for his father's old study as he assumed he would find plenty of reprehensible things to dispose of in there. He brought a pad and quill to jot down things that had to go, and there was very little that he had not written down. He walked through the halls writing down specific paintings that were altogether atrocious and persian rugs that had seen better days. Of course everything in the Malfoy home was of impeccable condition, but it was all so old that there was an abundance of items that deserved the term "seen better days". He also hadn't occupied many parts of the house for months on end, so everything was terribly dusty. There used to be house elves that would deal with things like that, but Draco had set them all free before he left for Azkaban. He had felt immensely guilty after Dobby's death and it was not below him to say that his opinion of house elves had changed, though his father would be appalled.

After about an hour of walking through the halls of the Manor, Draco wandered into the library. He loved books, but there were so many it was almost mad and a great deal of them were most likely not of the greatest subject matter. Draco went shelf by shelf writing down names of books that he thought were either ones to keep, find a new home for, or burn. As some of them were so incredibly irredeemable, all he could think of was to burn them.

It took him an abhorrently long amount of time to finish the library. Once he finished he looked up at the small grandfather clock on the mantel, which read 12:54. The day was, thankfully, flying by rather quickly. He thought he ought to just pop off to Diagon Alley for a bit of lunch and then stop by Flourish and Blotts to see if they'd take some old books. He made his way back up to his room to get a coat, his wallet, and wand, before heading down the stairs and into the fireplace.

He was standing at the apparition point into Diagon Alley by 1:00 and set off for The Leaky Cauldron, as going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop seemed ridiculous. He seated himself at the bar a few minutes later and ordered himself a firewhiskey and a bowl of stew, which seemed to be some of the only good food they sold. He ate his lunch silently and was out of the sleazy place within 45 minutes.

Draco walked down to Flourish and Blotts from there. He had hoped it hadn't changed much, he had always loved that shop and he had heard it had come under new management after the War. He hadn't caught who it was that owned it now, he had heard two ladies talking about it at the Ministry but hadn't ease-dropped early enough to hear any names. Without a second thought, Draco opened the door to Flourish and Blotts and stepped inside with a ring of the bell at the top of the door.

He only saw a few people browsing the shelves upon shelves of books, it was a cold day out and the Alley was barren, so he wasn't surprised to see a somewhat vacant shop. He glanced at the mahogany staircase off to his right that led up to the small top floor. His gaze followed the swirling bannister until it reached the balcony that used to be home to school books.

It was then that he saw her. Hermione Granger, sticking some books back into place on the shelf. She looked the same, slightly more mature and maybe even taller. Then again, he was looking at her from a distance and not the most desirable angle. She turned from the shelf as if she was about to make her way down the stairs and Draco hastened to the counter in the most inconspicuous way possible. He didn't want an awkward confrontation with Granger as she would most likely reprimand him for breathing and then chase him out of the store. All he wanted was to talk to the owner or whoever happened to be there about selling some books.

He stood awkwardly by the counter for a minute more before she slowly made her way around the back of the counter, looking at him with daggers in her eyes and pursed lips.

"Malfoy?" She asked with obvious venom in her voice.

He gulped slightly, "Hello, Granger. You are aware they usually only let employees behind the counter, right? I never thought you a rule breaker especially in a book store."

"I'm the owner, Malfoy. If you have a problem with the way the place is run you can take it up with me, but in my store, the owner is allowed behind the counter."

He froze and gulped again, this time trying to swallow back anything words that may set her off. "Oh Merlin…" he muttered to himself, "Look, I'm trying to maybe find a new home for some of the books in the library at the Manor. They're good books, in good condition, and I'm sure you'd have customers willing to buy them."

"Probably not if they came from the home of a former Death Eater." That had been a bit biting and he felt slightly angered and hurt at the remark, but he remained civil nonetheless. She seemed to have noticed his discomfort and he thought he sensed a bit of guilt and regret in her face. "Why are you trying to get rid of them anyways?"

"I've decided I'm done with the Manor and I'd like to rid myself of a lot of horrid memories. I'd like to see what I can do with the possessions that deserve a second chance and I thought books a good place to start."

"Done with the Manor? Like you're moving into a different mansion or you've decided to spruce the place up a bit?"

"Done with it. I'd like to destroy it and build a new home on the land." He said pointedly.

She sighed. "How many books are you looking to sell?"

"Probably around the 250 mark I'm assuming."

"250?" She gasped. "I mean that's a good lot of books but it also means I'd have to buy them off of you which would be incredibly expensive. Probably less expensive than providers..." She seemed to be talking to herself at this point and figuring things out outloud.

"I could just donate them, I have plenty of money I really don't need to sell them."

"No, I'm not going to accept you charity. Plus, I'm a businesswoman and that's not how business works." She said firmly, Draco rolled his eyes slightly and sighed before she continued. "How about I pay off an agreed price in increments?"

"Will you take the books off my hands if I agree?" He said, this was his last resort and he wanted the books out of his house and he wanted himself out of this shop.

"Deal." She said after a moment's pause.

"Thank you. Is 60 galleons a good price?"

"I think that's perfectly acceptable."

"Good," he tapped the counter with his hands in a sort of pseudo-celebration, "and goodbye Granger." He saw one last moderately sinister glare before turning and walking out of the shop.

Hermione had not expected to see Draco Malfoy in her shop, perhaps ever. Which was a bit ridiculous now that she considered the fact that she was one of the only wizarding book shops in a convenient radius of wizarding Britain and that he was after all a wizard. A wizard who liked books, nevertheless.

She stood, leaning against the wall behind the counter, completely perplexed and letting off excess steam. Colin came up to her about two minutes after Malfoy left. He seemed very tentative to come within a three foot distance of her.

"Hermione, I don't mean to be rude, but what on earth was that about?" He asked in a soft voice so as not to disturb the customers.

She looked up at him and took her time in talking, "Draco Malfoy is going to sell us some of his old books. 250 of them. I agreed to pay him small increments of money to pay off the large amount as I would not accept a donation. I feel as if I've just sold my soul to the devil."

"I'd say that's a pretty spot on feeling." He said matter-o-factly. "How long has it been since you've seen him?"

"I don't even know," she shook her head in response, "I know I saw him during the Battle of Hogwarts, that I remember vividly. But I don't know if I ever saw him in person after that until now. I remember seeing him in the Prophet and reading about his sentencing but I don't think I've seen him since he was walking across the Hogwarts courtyard to join the Death Eaters."

"Well, that shapes up for quite an afternoon doesn't it? Shame Hannah couldn't be here." He said, his humor never failing him even in a moment of pure confusion.

"A true shame." She replied, staring at the spot Malfoy had been standing in not five minutes before.

Thankfully, Harry had shown up in Diagon Alley early, so Draco didn't have to linger. They set out on their shopping trip to somehow attempt to save Draco's wardrobe for tomorrow. Draco told Harry the whole ordeal on the way.

"I haven't seen her since the Battle of Hogwarts. I tried to be as civil as possible but she just doesn't like me. I don't think she sees me as even a little bit redeemable."

"Well consider this, she's much more willing to come round than Ron ever will be, so be glad it wasn't him you ran into."

"I am eternally grateful that Weasley is so disgusted by me that he refuses to come to the clerk's office, ever. I'd rather not have to deal with him on a daily basis or even a monthly basis at that."

"Exactly. Be glad it was Hermione. Plus, she's an incredibly forgiving person if you get to know her."

"She'd have to forgive me in order to get to know me." Draco said in exasperation as Harry had clearly not thought through that answer.

Harry simply shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose yeah. Though, Hermione might not be at her happiest right now. Hannah Abbot used to work for her at Flourish and Blotts and she quit maybe two days because she bought The Three Broomsticks."

"Why would anyone want to buy The Three Broomsticks?" It was a good pub, but owning it must be hell.

Harry chuckled. "Hannah's engaged to Neville Longbottom and he works at Hogwarts so she thought she'd get a job where she'd be closer to him and he could come see her on weekends and such. I think it's a good plan. But anyways, now Hermione is stuck at the shop with just Colin Creevey, who's a nice bloke and apparently a really great worker, but I'm imaging she's a bit stressed about filling in Hannah's position, and missing her friend."

"I suppose that would make sense, plus she was at work when I encountered her and I imagine that's when she's most stressed." Draco replied as they walked down a street in a quiet part of Muggle London.

"That and Hermione and Ron just broke up. From what they tell me it was very amicable and mutual but breakups can be hard. I think you just caught her at a bad time."

"Yeah, I've been catching her at bad times for the past nine years of our lives." He said with a bit of a laugh, Harry chuckled at this as well.

"Anyways, this is the shop I was talking about." Harry said as Draco stared up at a sign with a boring family name and a drab paint job. They walked into a medium sized shop with racks and racks of men's clothing. "I think this is what your mystery lady was talking about." Harry said as he made his way through the maze of sales tables and metal hangers of various sizes. Harry pulled a dark forest green jumper off a white table that had been perfectly folded. "Ah, just your color too." He said as he held it up to Draco's pale complexion.

Harry double checked the tag to see if it was his size before handing it to Draco. Harry made Draco pick one other color, what he said Ginny called "variety in an unchanging wardrobe". Apparently she believed firmly in the concept of buying multiple colors of the same piece so you can pick one thing you like but still have plenty of options. Draco unwillingly picked a dark red, going against everything he stood for, at the pushy suggestion of Harry. It was going relatively smoothly in spite of that and it was quiet in the store. From what Draco could tell, there was no one else in the store besides a middle aged man with a newspaper perched behind a white wooden counter.

Harry pointed out a few other things to him that he decided he didn't like. Harry had told him that he probably needed more than jumpers to walk away with and convinced him to buy a chambray button up. Not unlike one he had seen Harry himself wearing multiple times in the past. He also made Draco get two pairs of slim jeans, in both their natural denim and a black, which Draco was quite pleased with. They finally came to the jackets and after much deliberation, Draco picked a sensible navy and a dark olive.

"I think you're set." Harry said, looking pleased as punch he had talked Draco Malfoy into a red jumper. Draco went up to the counter to purchase and within minutes, they were on their way out and back to their respective domains, Draco altogether pleased at the success of the afternoon.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione made her way home Saturday evening, very pleased to be done with the day and more importantly, the work week. She had had quite the day. Her encounter with Draco Malfoy had been an unexpected hiccup but she had gotten over it. She wasn't quite sure what she was still mad about, he had obviously cleaned up his act and become generally less biting in tone. Harry had told her that they had even agreed to leave the past behind them and become friends. She was a very forgiving person in general, but she and Malfoy had a not-so-pleasant history that involved too many slurs toward her bloodline to count and one too many nasty disputes.

She sighed to herself, making that about the 27th time she had sighed that day. " _Maybe buying off these books from him will help improve our relationship."_ She thought to herself, trying to justify the situation. " _I don't want to be mad at him forever, if Harry can forgive him, I surely can."_ She had decided then that she would be civil as possible towards Malfoy, she expected him to behave the same. Plus, she really wanted the books he was offering. She knew his family had a coveted collection of rare books and nice copies of popular ones. The provider who sent her her stock was pricey, he was efficient and highly recommended, but still pricey. He also had a monopoly on the business, so finding other providers was difficult. But buying these books off Malfoy would bring down the number of books she'd have to buy from her provider this month. Business wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. A lot of wizarding businesses were in a bit of a slump the last month or so. The summer months had kids of all ages coming into the stores of Diagon Alley, but once term started a lot of incoming business stopped. Malfoy's deal was a good one, and she was willing to accept it.

Hermione pushed any thought of Draco Malfoy out of her head and instead decided to focus on the fact that she was meeting her stranger tomorrow. She had asked Hannah to come over tomorrow morning to help her get ready and also help build up her confidence. She was incredibly nervous, which she found quite off-putting as a Gryffindor, but she had never done anything like this before. What if he was a creep in real life? What if he was handsome and smart and charming and all the things he was in his letters, but there was no physical chemistry? What if he walked in, took one look at her, and left?

Hermione might have been a Gryffindor, but that did not mean that she was not insecure. She was very insecure. She had always been. Insecure about her looks, her social skills, other people's opinions about her, and even in her academic performance. She did marvelously in school, but she pushed herself so hard because she was afraid of what her peers, her teachers, and especially her parents would think of her if she didn't do as well as humanly possible. She had always been insecure when it came to feelings, specifically about boys. She hadn't known what to think of Victor Krum fourth year, she hadn't known what to do when Ron started dating Lavender Brown, and she didn't know what to do now.

She put the kettle onto boil and made her way to her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and changed into a pair of pajamas. She had had her hair braided back all day and really didn't want to take it out as she was thankful to not have the annoyance of her curls. She slumped into a cross-legged pile against her headboard and flicked on the lamp next to her. She picked up her current read from the bedside table and opened to her bookmarked page. She had been reading _The Beautiful and The Damned_ by F Scott Fitzgerald and she quite liked it, but at this very moment in time she found herself getting lost in the flowery language and unable to get past a paragraph she had been stuck on for about twenty minutes. Her brain was obviously very preoccupied. She tossed her book onto the bedside table and made her way out into the living room. She opened one of the glass-front cupboards flanking her television set and started scanning the many film titles on the shelf. All of them classic films, she never much liked anything else. She landed on _Singin' in the Rain_ as it was cheery and long and she would probably be asleep by the end it, negating any insecurity or nervousness that happened to bubble to the surface. She started the film, crumpled onto the couch, and pulled the nearest blanket over herself.

She was satisfyingly preoccupied now, she got up to make herself a cup of tea when the kettle boiled and within the hour her cup of tea was finished and she was sound asleep on the couch.

Draco came home with his purchases in hand and spread the clothes out on the bed in front of him. He looked down at them, his stomach incredibly unsettled and his frustration growing. He didn't know what to wear. He supposed yes, he had all morning tomorrow to figure this out, but he needed something to occupy his ever reeling mind so he would subconsciously become tired and therefore not struggle to fall asleep. He paced in front of his bed for a minute or two, looking down at his options. He walked over to his closet and gave it a quick swoop as if to reassure himself that he truly had previously owned nothing that would do.

After about twenty five more minutes of deliberation, Draco had settled on his red jumper, dark olive jacket, and denim jeans. He was entirely sure of his decision once he'd put away his other purchases and saw the three items together on their own. " _This'll work, this looks good, this says friendly… and charming… and not at all work obsessed. That's good, this is good."_ Draco could not get his inner monologue to stop and decided to try reading. He put his clothes on the chair next to the bathroom and got changed into comfortable clothes before sitting on his bed and picking up the book on his nightstand. He had picked up _Pride and Prejudice_ earlier that month when he happened upon a small Muggle bookshop in the village that was close to the Manor.

She had said it was her favorite Muggle book and at this point he was seriously questioning her taste. He quite liked the main character, Elizabeth, she was amusing and fiery and she reminded him of her a bit. He understood the language and the customs, as she had said many people didn't like it because they couldn't understand those very things, he just wasn't sure how this was going to result in romance. Then again he wasn't very far. She had called it one of the greatest romance novels of all time. She said she wasn't a fan of romance novels usually but that this one is just so good it's hard to resist its charms. He supposed this Mr. Darcy fellow could be a possibility, but he seemed wholly unpleasant.

He eventually gave up on reading as he realized that his eyes were scanning the words but not actually reading them. He put the book back on his nightstand and huffed before turning out his lights with a very frustrated " _Nox"_ and stuffing himself under the covers. He would certainly not be asleep for a while as his mind could only think of her, but he might as well do what his mind wanted to instead of trying to distract it.

Hermione woke up around 8:00, on her couch, the telly screen a bright blue, and a sticky cup of tea on her coffee table. Hannah said she would be here around 9 so Hermione lazily got up, showered, pulled a robe on, and fixed herself breakfast. She was sitting on her couch in undergarments and a robe, drinking some tea, when Hannah knocked on her door. Hermione quickly got up and scrambled to welcome her in. She pulled the door open with a huge smile on her face and was greeted by an equally cheerful Hannah Abbot.

"Morning Hannah!" She said as Hannah passed under the doorframe and gave her a hug.

"Morning!" She replied while still embracing Hermione. "So I see you're showered and ready to be made up for the day. Let's get to it." Hannah said as she pulled away and closed the front door behind her. The pair made their way back to Hermione's room and Hannah sat on the bed while Hermione dug around in her closet before pulling out the periwinkle jumper.

"So, if you'll recall I locked myself into wearing this as a way to recognize me when he gets to the pub, but I desperately need your help making myself look presentable." Hannah stood up and made her way into the closet.

"No problem, boss." She took another look at Hermione and the jumper before going through the other clothes. She pulled out a white button up and handed it to Hermione. "Where do you keep your pants?"

"Third drawer down in the dresser to your right." Hermione said as she laid out the two pieces on the bed. Hannah dug around the drawer before pulling out a pair of straight-legged black jeans. "The button up goes under the jumper. Go change." She said as she handed the pants to Hermione. Hermione picked up her clothes and headed to the bathroom. Hannah looked for a pair of shoes and picked out a pair of loose, black, leather boots with a silver buckle. She pulled a pair of long, speckled, grey socks out of a top drawer and decided they were a good match.

Hermione was out of the bathroom a minute later, she looked kind and intelligent and approachable. Hannah was pleased with her work. "What do you think?" Hannah asked.

"I think you're a genius. It's perfect, it's not formal, not too casual. It's just right. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Here I picked out some shoes and socks." Hannah said gesturing to what she'd set on the bed.

"Even socks. You're very thorough."

"I'm dressing Hermione Granger, I have to be."

"Good point." Hermione said with a small chuckle. She pulled the socks on and made sure they were perfectly scrunched before pulling her boots on.

"You look great." Hannah said when Hermione stood up. "Now to do something with that hair of yours."

Hannah and Hermione made their way to the bathroom and they both stood in front of the mirror, looking at Hermione's hair, utterly bewildered by it. Hermione had pulled it out of the braid after her shower and her curls were softer and wavier than usual.

"I don't think you should have your hair down, maybe pulled back? Maybe tie it back at the nape of your neck?" Hermione nodded in agreement. "Good, I think that would compliment the collar." Hannah said as she grabbed a brush and some hair ties. She ushered Hermione to the kitchen table and made her sit as she brushed out the tangled curls. She pulled it back into a soft, cascading bunch of curls at the back of her head. The short strands framed her face perfectly. "You look really good. I'd like to take all the credit for it, and probably will at least to Colin, but you my dear are an absolute stunner. He is going to fall in love with you the moment he sees you."

"I do hope he in the least finds me agreeable." Hermione said with a bit of laugh.

"Agreeable? Darling, you're gorgeous, scary smart, and utterly charming. He's going to love you." Hannah said. Hermione blushed and looked down at her hands.

They spent the next few hours discussing the meeting and Hannah's first few days as the owner of The Three Broomsticks, among other things, until finally the clock struck 1:00 and they gathered their coats, Hermione her red-leather copy of Hamlet, and headed out to the apparition point.

Draco woke up at 9:45 and cursed to himself as he got up and raced to the shower. He had hoped to be up early, but soon realized that being up earlier would mean waiting for a longer amount of time and that would be awful. Ultimately, he was grateful for the long night of sleep.

He showered and took his time making sure he smelled nice and looked clean. He got out, got dressed, and set to fixing his hair. He took a second to look at himself in the mirror once he was done to make sure he looked decent. He realized he actually looked quite good in red.

He made his way downstairs for breakfast and made himself some toast with jam and a side of eggs. The nervous feeling in his stomach gradually went away as he ate, he figured it was just distracted trying to digest and the butterflies would be back momentarily. He took his time with breakfast before heading back up to his room. It was almost 11. He had almost three whole hours to wait before he left for Diagon Alley and met up with Harry. He decided to sit at his desk and reread some of her letters. He was afraid his memory might fail him and he would forget all of the things she had told him about herself and he would be at an absolute loss for conversation in her presence.

He smiled as he reread lines about the latest book she was reading, at the time it had been a Muggle novel called _84 Charing Cross Road_ which she said had been similar to their situation in plot except they knew each other's names and it had a very sad ending. He hoped that their situation wouldn't end sadly. He didn't want it to end at all, actually.

About 40 letters later, 1:45 finally rolled around and Draco rushed to his chair and slipped on his dark olive coat. He pulled on a grey, wool scarf for extra warmth and gave himself one last look in the mirror before nodding at himself in the mirror. He rushed down into the foyer and apparated into Hogsmeade. He found himself at the usual apparition point and walked the few lengths to get to the actual village portion. He was only standing alone for a few minutes before Harry showed up walking down the side of the street.

"Hello." Draco said once Harry had finally approached him.

"Hello, you feeling ready?" Harry asked.

"Very." Draco said, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Well, let's make our way over there, it's all the way on the other side." The pair set off down the road and were standing in front of The Three Broomsticks within minutes.

"Harry, can you do me a favor and just look in the window to see if she's there? I don't want to walk in with you and have her think I brought a friend along." Harry nodded in response and walked over the somewhat foggy window. Off to the left, against the wall, sitting at one of the many wooden tables, was a girl in a periwinkle jumper, a copy of Hamlet bound in red-leather with gold filigree lettering on the table. The girl was Hermione.

Harry knew the windows were foggy, but he would know her anywhere. The way she sat, the shape of her face, her curls. It was Hermione. And now he had to tell Draco. He had been frozen to the spot in surprise that his little suspicion had been even the least bit true.

"Um, Draco?"

"What?" Draco sounded paralyzed with fear.

"I don't quite know how to break this to you…" Harry said, trying to find his words while Draco waited on the edge of his seat for some sort of information. "It's Hermione."

Draco visibly froze. "It's what?" His tone was biting and shocked.

"It's Hermione, Hermione Granger. She's sitting on the left side of the pub in a periwinkle jumper with a red-leather bound copy of Hamlet on the table in front of her. I swear I'm not lying."

Draco pushed him out of the way and peered into the window, unable to believe his eyes when he realized what Harry said had been completely true. Hermione Granger was sitting there alone, arms crossed, breathing heavily and looking up at the door occasionally. It was unmistakably her.

"What on earth am I going to do?" Draco said, looking at nothing in particular but obviously expecting an answer.

"Are you going to tell her? Like walk in and tell her that it's you?"

"Are you mad? She'd hex me."

"Well it's not like she'd call you a liar, that's not something you can lie about. 'Oh I've been your pen pal for months on end that you happen to be waiting for here at 2:00' it's not like she'd have any choice but to believe you."

Draco nodded, his head was spinning with possibilities and a bit of disappointment and confusion. "I can't tell her, she's not used to me. She has to get used to me before I reveal myself to her."

"So you'll still eventually reveal yourself to her?" Harry asked.

"Yes, just not today sadly." Draco thought for a second more. "Here, let's go in together and then sit down with Hermione- you bridge the gap, and she can get acquainted to me in a more comfortable setting because you'll be there."

"Don't you think she'll tell us to scram as she's waiting for someone very important?" Harry asked, obviously a bit concerned. He had Hermione's feelings at heart, as he ought to, and clearly felt bad with the way things were going.

"I mean if she does, oh well but at least she'll get used to the idea that we're friends which means the two of us could become friends. I still want this to work out, even if it has to take a while longer than I thought."

"Years ago, if this had happened, the sight of her would have sent you running for the hills. Does this mean you like her?" Harry said with a slightly teasing but also curious tone.

"Well I'm not sure yet, I certainly like the person she is in her letters. She's wonderful in her letters." Draco trailed off a bit.

"Well then, let's go in and see how this goes." They both took deep breaths before Harry pushed open the door.

They walked in and Draco's eyes immediately met Hermione's, who had obviously been hoping the next person in the pub would be her stranger, but instead saw her best friend with their old school nemesis. "Why hello Hermione!" Draco heard Harry say, shaking him out of his minor trance. Harry was obviously feigning surprise and made his way to sit at her table, Draco followed. "Do you mind?" Harry asked as they sat, but rather as a polite gesture than an actual question.

"Um well, I'm expecting someone actually so if you could make it quick." Hermione said glancing at the door, transparently uneasy. They made idle chit chat for a few minutes before Draco interjected a comment of his own.

"I see you're reading Hamlet. I loved that play, my favorite Shakespeare actually."

Hermione looked stunned but attempted to answer anyways. "Yes, um, it's my favorite as well." An awkward silence befell the table before Hermione grabbed her jacket and book and got up, "Sorry, it doesn't look like my friend is going to make it so I'm just going to leave." She said breathlessly before hastily making her way to the door. Draco took one glance at Harry before getting up and following her. He got out the door to see she was several feet in front of him.

"Hermione!" He called. She turned around, very confused. He made his way over to her.

"Did you just call me Hermione?" She asked once he had gotten close enough.

"Yeah sorry I wanted to get your attention. Listen," Draco tried to think on his feet as fast as he could, "I heard there's an opening at Flourish and Blotts and I was wondering if I could throw my name into the ring of potential hirees." He said, he hadn't thought much about that decision beforehand but now that he said it, it made sense. He could grow closer to her and win her over in person and make up for the disappointment that today was.

"Why on earth would you want to work for me, Malfoy?" She was exasperated at this point

"I've been working a very boring job as a clerk for the Auror office at the Ministry for months and I'm sick of it and afraid I might get stuck there if I don't get out soon. I like books and I'm a good salesperson and I think I would do well at your shop. That and, I want to make amends. I've become friends with Harry and I feel bad that I haven't had the chance to make things up to you. I was awful to you when we were in school and I know there isn't much I could do to make up for some of it," his mind went back to an unbelievably awful moment in second year when he'd called her a mudblood, shivers went down his spine at the very thought, "but I'd at least like to try." He could see her mulling it over in her head, the brilliant wheels turning and contemplating the pros and cons.

"I'd work for as little pay as you offer and you can have all those books for free, I have plenty so I don't work for the income but rather the need to do something. I've heard from Harry you've felt overworked since Hannah left so I think it would be an optimal time to offer my services."

She was still quiet, looking directly at him, scrutinizing every last inch of his face to see if he was lying. Before he could get another word out she spoke up. "Fine, you're hired. You start as soon as you're able."

He was shocked to say the least. "Really?" He asked genuinely.

"Really." She said with serious expression. "I need help at the shop and I've come up empty handed in my search for someone to fill the position. I agree with making amends, I'd like to be able to forgive you but I need to get to know you a bit and what better way than to work together."

"I'm glad you agree. Thanks for saying yes." He said.

"You're welcome." She said before turning on her heels and walking up the road. He realized then that she looked really beautiful in periwinkle. It suited her. And then he thought for a moment more: she was his stranger. The one he had fallen in love with through words on parchment. Hermione Granger was his stranger.

 **A/N:** Just wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who has read and to the handful of people who have sent in reviews, I can't tell you how much I appreciate them! This fanfic has about seven more chapters after this so I hope you all stay tuned!


	10. Chapter 10

The thin watch on Hermione's wrist read 1:55 and even though she was early she had expected him to also be a bit ahead of schedule seeing as both of them could hardly wait. She waited a few more minutes, occasionally glancing up at the door or across the pub to the other side of the bar where Hannah was serving drinks and Colin was sitting with a glass of butterbeer. They looked just as nervous as she felt.

Two o'clock finally rolled around and there was still no sign of him. No one had even entered the pub in the last 15 minutes. Finally, at 2:03, the bell at the door gave a shrill jingle and in walked a man. Followed by another man unfortunately. Not only that, but it was Harry and none other than Draco Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes had met hers immediately and for some reason she didn't bother to look away. The bell should have been ringing to alert her to the arrival of her stranger, not her best friend and his newly acquired companion. "Why hello, Hermione!" Harry said, she looked at her best friend, completely unhappy to see him, and watched as he sat down next to her. "Do you mind?" He asked, most likely assuming that she wouldn't.

"Um well, I'm expecting someone actually so if you could make it quick." She glanced at the door, hoping her stranger was just having a bit of trouble finding the place and that he would walk in any second now and she would have an excuse to get up and leave these two to themselves. She tuned Harry out for the most part, who was trying in vain to engage her in conversation, but she wasn't pulled back in until Draco spoke.

"I see you're reading Hamlet. I loved that play, my favorite Shakespeare actually." He looked as if he was trying very hard to get her to like him, and at this particular moment in time, she was not having it. Another moment, maybe, but certainly not now.

"Yes, um, it's my favorite as well." He nodded in reply. She waited for a few more minutes in silence and glanced down at her watch one last time. 2:15. He was obviously not coming. "Sorry, it doesn't look like my friend is going to make it so I'm just going to leave." She grabbed her coat and book as quickly as she could and practically ran to the door. A few seconds later, Malfoy had followed her outside.

"Hermione!" He called. She was shocked, he had never in their acquaintance ever called her Hermione. Always Granger, and occasionally, mudblood.

"Did you just call me Hermione?" Was all she could manage.

Hermione turned away and began walking away up the road as fast as she could. She heard Malfoy turn and return to the pub just as someone else was exiting in a loud clatter of feet. Two someones, actually.

Hannah and Colin didn't take long to catch up to her and she was not at all surprised that they had followed. "Hermione! Hermione, are you okay?" Hannah asked, a bit out of breath but obviously concerned.

Hermione was biting back tears at this point, and both of her friends could tell. "I… I can't believe he didn't show up." She said with strain.

"I swear I'm going to kill this guy even though I have no idea who he is." Colin said with a disconcerting amount of anger in his voice. "I can't believe he would do that to you after months of charming letters, what a wanker."

"Colin, I appreciate your concern but maybe anger isn't the best way to deal with this." Hermione said, trying to keep her wits about her. The tears were flowing freely now and she bit her lip in annoyance. She didn't want to cry over him, a man she had never met and probably never would meet considering how the day had gone. "I think I need to go home and cry a bit. Can you guys come with me?" She asked. They both seemed surprised that she wanted them there, but in all honesty they had become two of her closest friends. Harry was very busy at the Ministry so she didn't see him as much and Ron, well, they were still friends but they hadn't spoken since the break up and it hadn't even been a week so that was still a fresh wound. She had worked with these two everyday for more than a year and she loved them dearly.

Hermione, Hannah, and Colin made their way to the apparition point in silence. Hermione grabbed their hands and they were gone. They landed the usual two blocks away from her flat and made that walk in silence as well. They finally arrived and Hermione immediately made her way to the bathroom and locked herself inside. She looked at her face in the mirror. Tear stained and patchy-red. She pulled off her coat and set it on the counter. She turned on the water and waited for it to get warm. She pulled out a washcloth and ran it under the stream before bringing it to her face and washing away the dejection that had made itself at home over the past few minutes. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time and gave a great sigh before unlocking the door and stepping out into the hall.

Hannah was at the stove putting a kettle on and Colin was getting out some cups. They both turned around when she walked out. She placed her coat over the back of a chair at the table and sat down. They both joined her.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Hannah asked softly.

Hermione sighed, refusing to meet her eyes. "I didn't think he would be late. I was surprised when it was 2:00 and he hadn't shown up yet. Then Harry and Malfoy walked in and I was flooded in disappointment, and then they sat down and I started panicking. What if he had walked in and seen me at a table with them? Would he have just left?" She sat back in her chair. "You don't think he looked through the window to try to see if I was there and saw me with them and left, do you?" She sounded more worried than she had intended.

"Of course not, that's ridiculous he would have come in anyways." Colin said.

Hannah looked at him in annoyance.

"So you just think he didn't show up at all?" Hermione asked.

"Oh gosh Hermione that's not what I meant." Colin in a bit of a cold sweat.

"No no, it's alright." Hermione waved it off as no big deal. "What am I going to do? Should I write him and ask why he didn't show up?"

Hannah pondered this for a moment. "That might be a good idea. Maybe you don't know the whole story, there could have been a family emergency or something. Or he got lost, maybe he'd never been to The Three Broomsticks before, it's entirely possible."

"That's a good idea, Hermione. You never know what the problem could have been and I'm sure he feels awful about it. He seemed just as excited to meet you as you were him when you told us. I'd hate to see you give up on this, he seems like he's perfect for you."

Hermione cracked a shy smile at this. He was perfect. He was witty, intelligent, kind, he valued hard work, he listened to her suggestions, he made her laugh. He was absolutely perfect. "Okay, I'll write to him tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. I don't know if I feel up to it or not."

"Good idea, just write when you feel ready." Hannah said reassuringly. The kettle whistled then and Hannah got up to pour them their tea.

"So what was all that with Draco Malfoy outside?" Colin asked.

"Colin!" Hannah exclaimed from the kitchen, "Don't badger her!"

"That's funny coming from a Hufflepuff." Hannah glared at him, "Sorry, couldn't resist. But I am curious I'm not gonna lie, especially after that run in at the shop yesterday."

"What run in at the shop?" Hannah asked as she sat back down with their tea.

Hermione sighed as she grabbed her cup. "Malfoy came into the shop yesterday looking to sell some old books, he wants to destroy the Manor and sell what he can salvage so I agreed to purchase them in increments." Hermione said. "I hadn't seen him since the Battle of Hogwarts so it was a bit awkward and confrontational I suppose. Anyways, he followed me out of the pub and asked me for a job."

"He asked you for a job? Is he insane?" Colin was startled and Hermione wasn't sure if she was willing to tell him the rest. "Did he forget that he doesn't like you?"

"He said he wants to make amends. You did notice he was there with Harry, he apologized to him when he started working at the Ministry and they've become surprisingly good friends. I think it's worth a shot, I don't like holding grudges so I hired him."

"You what?" Colin said, too astonished to sound angry.

"I hired him, Colin. He's a good worker, that I know, I saw it at Hogwarts. He loves to read and learn and it's important for employees to like what they're selling. Plus, we'll get those books he's selling for free and he offered to take the lowest pay possible."

"Why would anyone do that?" Colin asked.

"He's a Malfoy, he technically doesn't have to work for the rest of his life but he likes to keep himself occupied. I think it's a good deal, so I hired him."

"Does this mean I have to become friends with him?" He asked.

"Not necessarily friends but I would appreciate it if you would be civil. I'd like to try and make amends with him if possible and it would probably be healthy for you to do so as well. Plus, you don't have as much of a history with him as I do so I'm not sure what all you're complaining about."

Colin paused for a moment, "Only Hermione Granger could act like that after being stood up." He said to Hannah, his voice full of admiration.

"Very true." She replied.

"Hannah's who's watching the pub?"

"Oh, don't worry, Rosmerta's niece Esmeralda has been working there ever since she graduated Hogwarts, so she knows the ropes. I asked her to watch it while I was gone. Personal emergency."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Both of you, I appreciate both of you." She smiled at her two lovely friends. "You should probably get back soon though, I wouldn't want to keep you long."

"Are you sure? I can stay as long as you need me." She said.

"Yeah me too." Colin added.

"Don't worry guys, I'll be fine. I think I just need a bit of time to cool down and think about it on my own. Thanks for being here though."

They both nodded and smiled. They stayed until they finished their tea and then retrieved their coats. Hermione said goodbye and closed the door behind them. She made her way to her bedroom and changed into pajamas. She looked at her periwinkle jumper sadly as she placed it back in her closet.

She made her way into the living room and started flipping through records. She selected a Chet Baker album that her father had gifted her. She had always been surprised that he had given her such a melancholy album but when she asked he simply replied with "Sometimes you need sad music, it usually makes you feel better about yourself." She gently set the needle on the black disc and sat on the couch. She spent the next half hour crying her eyes out.

Once she'd gotten herself together she decided she didn't want to put off writing him any longer. She got up and moved to her desk. She pulled out a quill and parchment and ravenously poured her emotions onto the page, along with a few tears.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _Today I arrived at The Three Broomsticks at a quarter to 2. I found a nice table on the left side of the pub, right against the wall, and made myself comfortable. I set my copy of Hamlet on the table and I pulled off my coat to make sure my periwinkle jumper was visible. I waited until my watch read 2:00 on the dot. You didn't show up. I assumed you might just be a few minutes late, so I waited. A few minutes later, one my best friend showed up with one of his friends. They sat down and made frivolous chatter for a few minutes before I realized that you weren't coming and that I might as well leave. I grabbed my coat, I got up, and I made my way out of the pub as promptly as possible. Thankfully, my two best friends (who had insisted on tagging along and staying in the background) came and consoled me and followed me home for a cup of tea. It was a nice distraction._

 _But now I'm dwelling on it. I'm sitting on my couch being sad and listening to a particularly depressing jazz album. I'm feeling sorry for myself, which I never do. I spent half an hour crying. I wouldn't go as far to say you broke my heart, but you've most certainly bruised it. And for that I feel utterly foolish. That for one I let my heart be so easily ensnared in the charms of a man who I do not know, and two that I let myself believe that it was all going to end up alright. I don't believe I've ever let myself fall so recklessly for anyone before, but now I have and it's more painful than any other romantic mishap that has ever befallen my hopeless love life._

 _A Stranger_

She did not sign it " _Your Stranger"._ She did not want him to think she was still his. She had never been his. She had promised him her heart over stacks of parchment, at least 6 bottles of ink, and so many words that were so dear to her.

She looked up from her tear-stained letter. Henry was sitting on her window sill, vigilant as ever. "Hello, Henry. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again. At least not so soon." She said as she opened up the window and handed him the letter. He flew off into the dwindling afternoon and she watched with fresh tears on her cheeks.

Draco received the letter as the dusk of the early evening was beginning to settle and he couldn't say he was very excited. He was pleased when he opened the letter and saw the usual:

 _Dear Stranger…_

He was, however, not pleased when he had finished reading the letter. He _had_ broken her heart, whether she said so or not, he knew he had. He could tell. There was obvious pain in every sentence and the parchment itself was stained with tears. She had signed off with simply " _A Stranger",_ which had been what they had used for the first few letters. She had suggested the change. She thought it was too impersonal a term to call the person you were sharing your innermost feelings with. He had agreed.

Draco now deeply regretted not just walking into the pub and sitting across from her in her periwinkle jumper and telling her the truth. He had wanted to. Once he had sat down with Harry, he had wanted to. He thought maybe he could convey it to her secretly, which was why he had mentioned Hamlet being his favorite. He thought she had caught on for a moment but she hadn't. Probably just confused that he had been reading Muggle literature.

He couldn't believe he had done that to her. The girl he had fallen in love with over so many wonderful letters and meaningful conversations. He had hoped for nothing more than for this day to go smoothly. He felt a bit empty, he had been anticipating this all week and now the girl he thought he loved was someone he was sure he could never even tolerate, and now she was heartbroken and he was responsible.

He spent the next twenty minutes of thinking up a way to apologize, some sort of way to explain to her why he had not been there and how awfully sorry he was. He sat down at his desk and pulled out his parchment and quill.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I can't explain why I wasn't there today. All I can tell you is that I feel absolutely dreadful about this. I know I've hurt you and the damage I've caused is irreversible. I've run over in my head how awful it must have been, sitting there and waiting and coming up empty handed. I know you said I haven't completely broken your heart, but I feel like I have. I've done a lot of horrid things in my life and I'm ashamed of all the hurt I've caused other people, and this is certainly one of the worst things I've done. I've hurt someone who I care about deeply and I'll probably never be able to make it up to them._

 _I know you don't feel very forgiving, but please if you could give me one more chance to prove that I'm not the enormous twat you think I am. If you want to cut off our correspondence, that's completely fine and I understand, but I want you to know that I didn't stand you up today because I don't care. I care more about this than I have about almost anything else. I'm so incredibly sorry that I've hurt you. Please accept my apology, even though it is most certainly not deserved or expected._

 _Your Stranger_

He was still hers. He didn't want to be anything other than hers. He felt sick to his stomach with guilt and sadness. He handed the letter off to Henry and climbed into bed, even though the clock read only six. He didn't want dinner. He didn't feel like doing anything. When he had gotten home he had sent his letter of resignation to the Ministry, they had plenty of interns who could fill his position if or until they found someone more qualified. He wanted to start on his plan to win back Hermione's heart as soon as possible.

Draco had woken up at six the next morning and he got up and ready. He pulled on one of his older grey jumpers. This one was speckled in texture and he thought it quite flattering. He wore his black jeans and pulled his olive coat on over it all. He wasn't sure what all he had to bring to his first day of work but it was a bookshop after all so he thought he was fine to just bring his wand and an attitude that wouldn't piss off Hermione.

All the shops in Diagon Alley opened at seven for convenience so he apparated away at 6:45 to make sure he was there early enough. He arrived at the apparition point soon after and the chill outside was much harsher than he thought. He made his way toward Flourish and Blotts. He wasn't sure if there was an entrance for employees but even so he wouldn't have a way to get in. He simply walked up to the front door and hoped that Hermione, punctual and usually early as she was would already be there. Of course she was. He knocked on the window and she made her way to the door to let him in.

"Morning Hermione." He said as he stepped past her into the shop. It was very peaceful without customers in it.

"Morning Draco. I see we've jumped right into using first names."

"I thought it would be more appropriate and altogether less childish." He said with a bit of sarcasm.

"I agree." She said shortly. He could tell this would be a very antagonistic partnership.

"So what should I know before the work day begins." He asked as he peeled off his coat. She took it from him and he followed her as she walked to the back of the store.

"Well, first off, employees come in through the back. I'll give you a key before you leave today. There's a little alleyway two shops down where you can access the backdoors of all the shops. Other than that, it's a bookshop so generally the customers are very laid back and you won't have to be serving them as you would in say a restaurant, but you should know where things are to start off. I'll start you off on stock so you can just put new books from the back on shelves, they're in alphabetical order by genre, and pick up books that are left about by customers. I'll probably also have you do some more menial tasks if you don't mind-" "Not at all." He replied. "Good, um, the backroom will have to be a bit cleaned up, Colin and I just haven't had the chance. I've been rather invested in the sales book and dealing with providers, I also deal with the cash register. Colin is all customer service so you probably won't have to deal with customers that often. He knows where everything is and he can think on his feet while also being kind and accommodating, he's a good role model so mimick him as best you can." Draco nodded along to everything she said. "Anyways, a tour of the shop so you know where it all is." She said as she started walking towards the closest set of shelves.

"Here you have wizarding fiction. The next row is history. Then sports, that includes a section of "How to Fly a Broomstick" manuals in various levels. This is the section on creatures and their care." She patted the sides of shelves as she passed them. "Then all the subjects: potions, transfiguration, charms, defense against the dark arts, divination which is a fairly small section here, arithmancy, astronomy, herbology, ancient runes, muggle studies including a small section of classic muggle literature, a section on alchemy that is rather sad and no one seems to wander to, plus some smaller sections over here on ghoul studies, magical theory, and studies of ancient magic. The top floor is just large quantities of books required for Hogwarts so it's easy for students to track them down."

"Impressive." Was all Draco could manage. That was a lot to keep track of. Worth it, though.


	11. Chapter 11

_Two Weeks Later_

Draco's first day had gone very well and the following two weeks had gone just as smoothly. Hermione and him had resorted to a work relationship of witty banter and occasional scathing comments. So all was well. His relationship with Colin was even gradually improving. Colin obviously wasn't willing to just automatically jump on board with the idea of friendship, but they worked together well and Colin was a really enjoyable person.

But Draco was ready to start on his plan. In their letter relationship, Hermione had still not replied to his apology. He had hoped she would at least say something but he had not seen hide nor tail of a letter from her since. He had sent her a few, saying he understood that she was angry but he wanted to talk things out and that he didn't want to lose her. That was clearly a bad strategy.

Today was the day, nevertheless. He was going to start a conversation with Hermione about that fateful Sunday and see if it went anywhere interesting enough for her to divulge personal things to him. If she did, they'd be on a new level of trust and he'd be one step closer to getting her back. Of course, he was still a bit confused about his own feelings. He was certainly in love with letter-Hermione, but actual Hermione? He had come to enjoy her more in the last two weeks than he ever thought possible, but he wasn't sure if he loved her. She was different in person. That's thing about letter-writing affairs, you can cut out anything about yourself that may be displeasing or unattractive and be altogether splendid. And when you're an absolute complete stranger, you can even lie about the truth. Though he doubted she had ever lied to him. He had certainly never lied to her.

It was about 12:45 on a very pleasant Tuesday and no one happened to be in the store at the moment, including Colin who was out with a fever and a headache. Hermione was sitting at the front counter, pouring over a sales book like it meant the end of the world. He took a deep breath, fixed his jumper, and mustered his courage before approaching the counter.

"Hermione?" He asked before getting too close.

"Do you need something?" She said a bit dazed as she looked up from the book.

"Um, not really I just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh okay go ahead." She said, turning on her stool to face him.

"It's kind of personal, I suppose." He said, hesitating at his wording.

"Personal? You're asking me something personal?" She seemed to laugh a bit at the thought.

"Well not something personal about me, but something probably personal about you." He leaned on the counter with his elbows.

She pondered with a quizzical brow for a moment before making her decision. "Okay, I'll allow it, but just this once."

"Good, because it's been bothering me." He moved one of his elbows off the counter and leaned heavily on one side. "Sunday before last, when I asked you for a job and Harry and I had come into The Three Broomsticks, you said you were waiting for someone and then a few minutes later you got up in a huff and left looking incredibly disappointed, and I was wondering… did Harry and I ruin something for you?"

She sat there on her stool, looking despondent and shocked at his sympathy. She took a deep breath again. "I was waiting for someone and they didn't show up. By the time you got to me and asked me for a job, I was relatively heartbroken. Which probably explains why I gave it to you, I was undeniably senseless at the time." She said with a small smile. He smiled back.

"I hate to be nosy, I don't actually I'm just saying that out of respect to my good breeding, but I'm assuming it was a man?" He asked trying to lift her spirits somehow. She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Yes it was." She seemed unwilling to give any more detail.

"I'm sorry we ruined your date." He said with genuine sympathy.

"You didn't ruin it, he probably wouldn't have showed up anyways. I doubt he looked through the window and saw you guys and decided to run for the hills." She smiled sadly at him.

"Why not? I think we're rather intimidating." He said jokingly, trying in vain to lighten her mood.

"I wish that had been the case but sadly he just didn't show." She looked him right in the eyes and he was completely frozen. His small smile had faltered and he was utterly speechless. He had broken this wonderful girl's heart and here he was making jokes trying to make her feel less destroyed and she was sitting there looking completely wonderful and all he wanted to do was tell her the truth. If there had been any doubt in his mind that he loved letter-Hermione and not real-Hermione, it was totally dissuaded in that moment. There was no way he could be in love with letter-Hermione and not love her actual, real, breathing self because real-Hermione was letter-Hermione. She was everything that she wasn't sharing with him right now, everything she wouldn't share with someone else. She was everything pure and wonderful and perfect and he loved her.

"I'm really sorry. He's an idiot." He said. He was looking at her like she was the sun and the moon and the stars and all of it and he hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Thank you. I'm trying to convince myself of the same thing."

"You need convincing?" He asked, somewhat confused and very astonished.

"I really liked him. I think I might have loved him, actually, which is depressing considering it all, but he was charming and perfect." She paused for a moment as if she was discovering something. "He was perfect for me. So I don't why he didn't show up but he didn't and that was that. I went home and wrote him a very emotional letter and received back an apology that I still haven't replied to."

"Any particular reason why?" He asked trying not to sound too interested. She raised her brows at that. "What? Just trying to offer a helping hand."

"I can't believe I told you as much as I did." She said standing from her stool and making her way to the back while still talking. "I think I needed to get it off my chest though, so thanks I feel loads better."

"You're very welcome." He nodded to himself, he thought that had gone well.

Hermione got home later that day, her head feeling very muddled with confusion and exhaustion. She and Draco had had a very friendly and rather deep conversation and it was sending her for a loop. She had felt something when she looked him in the eyes but she didn't know what. She wasn't sure if it was a feeling of comfort, like she finally felt at ease around him, or if it was a spark. She didn't want it to be a spark. She was still in love with her stranger. Or so she thought. She wasn't completely sure. He had hurt her more than she imagined he could when he stood her up. She had thought that he cared enough about her to at least show up.

Regardless, she wasn't ready to reply to his letter yet. She wouldn't know what to say to him and she still didn't feel like talking to him. She was angry and upset and heartbroken and she was mad at herself for falling for a stranger.

She was tired of pouring her heart out over him every spare second and decided to occupy her thoughts with something else. All that was occupying the space, unfortunately, was a very kind and sincere Draco Malfoy. He had forgiven him, internally but not to his face, a few days after he had started working as he was doing really well and they were getting along swimmingly, but now she was afraid that everything might go exactly the direction she didn't want it to go.

 _Two Weeks Later_

Draco and Hermione hadn't had a serious conversation since he had asked her about that Sunday. A few friendly conversations about books and weekend plans but nothing beyond cordiality. She still had not written him back and he was beginning to lose hope that she ever would. Colin was out again today to visit his mother who apparently fell down a set of stairs while carrying a large quantity of scrapbooks. Draco didn't feel comfortable talking to Hermione about personal subject matter around Colin, even though he was perfectly comfortable around Colin, and decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

He plucked up his courage once more and straightened out his black long sleeve tshirt. He had gone shopping again at the muggle store to get more casual clothes for his job and he certainly felt more comfortable in them. He made his way to the backroom where Hermione was doing inventory. There were two other customers in the store, but they were a pair of old ladies who turned their nose up at him when he had asked if they needed assistance.

"How's it going in here?" He asked. She jumped a bit even though she was seated on the floor in a mass of books.

"You startled me," she took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, "it's well, though. I've gotten quite good at inventory as organizing things always was one of my strong suits." He nodded in agreement. "Did you need anything?"

"No just kind of bored."

"Have those horrid old women left yet?" She asked in hushed tones.

He was a bit surprised that she would call someone horrid, especially a pair of old women. "Uh no, but they were very particular about me staying far away from them."

"Yes, they tend to be rather prickly. They come in about once a week and browse. I don't think I've ever seen them buy a single thing."

"That seems about right." He paused for a moment. "Anyways, I've been meaning to ask, how's everything with your mystery man going? Has he said anything of consequence?"

She looked at him with a bit of hesitation before going back to her list. "I haven't replied to him yet and he hasn't said anything to me since so… I don't know. I'm assuming something will happen eventually but I must admit, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever been involved with and I can't say I'm handling that much better."

"Why is it ridiculous? You met a man, you decided you fancied him, he agreed, you decided to go on a date, and he didn't show up. I don't get what's so ridiculous about that, it's happened to lots of people unfortunately."

She inhaled and had a very pained look on her face. "I've never actually met him." She spit out quickly before letting her head fall onto her open palm.

Draco smiled while she was looking away before composing himself. "You've never met him? How can you possibly love someone you've never met?"

"You worked at the Ministry, you must have heard about Susan Bones program?"

"That girl who works for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes?" He asked, his best poker face plastered over his original. Thank heavens he was a good liar.

"Exactly. She started this program called Medicinal Mail where people who are struggling to recover after the war get paired up with a stranger and can divulge their deepest feelings and emotions without having to ever face the person…"

"Ah," he cut her off, "and you were paired up with a charming stranger who you subsequently fell head over heals for, the pair of you agreed to meet up, and now he's broken your heart?"

"Exactly. Good deductive reasoning."

"Thanks."

She paused a moment before blurting out another question. "Do you think it's absolutely ridiculous that I fell in love with a stranger? Please be completely honest."

He pursed his lips and hesitated while making eye contact with her. Her face was calm but her eyes were desperate for an answer. "I don't think it's ridiculous at all actually. I think it makes loads of sense. Who wouldn't want to fall in love with a mysterious, seemingly perfect, stranger who writes them letters? It's rather a docile thing to do compared to other things, so I wouldn't worry about it."

The very loud, very hoarse sound of an old lady came from the front room. "Does ANYONE work here?! I'm trying to buy a book and there isn't a single soul who can sell it to me!"

"Thanks, that makes me feel less guilty. I'll be right back." She got up and made her way to the counter. He sat in the back room and thought over his options.

 **A/N:** SO SORRY it took me so long to update, crazy week. Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter! Thank you so much for reading! It does a lot for a girl's self-esteem.


	12. Chapter 12

Colin would be gone for another two days, so Draco had Hermione all to himself at the shop. They spent a lot of time discussing books as they were constantly surrounded by them and the topic seemed to crop up quite a bit. They talked about _Hogwarts: A History,_ which he soon learned to be her favorite book, even trumping _Pride_ _and_ _Prejudice_. She wouldn't have been able to tell him that in her letters because it was school-specific. He had always liked that book as he liked history, but he never truly appreciated it until after the War.

He asked her at the end of the day on Wednesday about how she came to run the shop as he was sure she was destined for a very prestigious Ministry position.

"Ah, yes. I was so sure I would just fall in love with public service and just find my niche in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, as any supporter of house-elf rights should, but sadly it didn't work out. I felt overwhelmed and I was doing very little in the way of progress because I was so overwhelmed all the time. Ernie Macmillan took over the position when I left and he deals with stress well so he's done a fantastic job."

"How did you come across the shop though? Doesn't seem like something you'd seek out."

"Not really no. I was walking through the Alley one day and saw a "For Sale" sign in the window and went for it. Honestly, one of the most impulsive things I've ever done. I've learned to trust my impulse over the years, though. It usually turns out to be right."

"And you enjoy being a business owner?"

"I do. I get to be my own boss, I get to be surrounded by something I love all day, I get to inspire other people to read or to love learning, I don't get Saturdays off but I'm still in a bookstore, I can keep up on all the latest news from an abundance of perspectives which is always interesting, I get to meet lots of new people, it's very rewarding. More so than I ever imagined it would be."

"Seems to suit you just right." She smiled at him. Genuinely. And he smiled back. And they paused for a moment, just smiling at each other over a pile of books in whimsical silence.

On Wednesday morning, they were stacking books on shelves that Draco had brought in from his collection at the Manor. They were in the midst of finding nooks and crannies for them when she came around the corner of the aisle just as he was walking down it to ask her a question.

They ran right into each other and were extremely close for approximately 7 seconds before one of them made any effort to move. Before any moving happened, however, Draco caught her eyes and looked into them very deeply before realizing how ridiculous he was being. She finally stepped away after the very long 7 second pause and straightened out her skirt and sweater before huffing slightly louder than she intended and giving him a quick smile. She turned and went two aisles down and he pressed his back up against the bookshelf for support. He had never been in such close proximity to her and it was killing him now. She smelled like mulberries and fresh air. Her skin was perfect, smooth and lightly freckled, but you wouldn't be able to tell that from any distance further than the three inches he had been from her.

It was all very cliche. He didn't really mind.

On Thursday, Colin returned feeling very guilty about the fact that he had missed so much work. Draco was a bit disheartened that he didn't have Hermione all to himself anymore but he enjoyed Colin and things with Hermione were going well.

At some point during the day, Colin insisted that he inventory the last two boxes of books as he knew her system backwards and forwards and wanted to do something particularly helpful. Hermione took him up on the offer. She had to do something involving the sales book and the new shipment and had to figure out some ways to store excess books. She had meanwhile asked Draco if he could by any chance step outside a moment to please clear away the absurd amount of snow that had piled up outside of the shop, during the insanely unusual snow storm that had hit the night before, before the Alley was open for business.

He pulled on his coat and brandished his wand before stepping out into the tundra of Diagon Alley. There was quite a pile that met him right on the first step, so he closed the door behind him and brandishing his wand at the heaps of snow in front of their shop and the ones nearby. Just as he was about to scatter some snow that had piled under the window, he stopped himself. She had just caught his eye through the window and for some reason he couldn't look away. She was just sitting, sitting at the front desk leaning over the sales book, quill in hand and a calculating brow. She looked peaceful and intelligent, which she always did. It reminded him of all the times he had seen her sitting that same way in class for six years, and hadn't recognized the beautiful girl that she was. He wanted to smack himself over the head for the way he had treated her, especially in their younger years. He had been a brat and she had always been a beauty, he was just too stubborn to realize it.

After about a minute of staring and pondering, Hermione looked up from her numbers and met his eyes through the foggy window panes. He quickly looked away, very embarrassed and hoping she had just been staring off into space in thought and hadn't actually seen him. He was wrong.

She got up from her stool and made her way out the front door. She was standing in front of him now. Slightly taller on a step, her arms crossed but not in a rude way, but rather a freezing-cold way. She had a small smile at the corners of her lips.

"Are you okay?" She asked tilting her head, her curls swept across her collarbones. "You seem sad."

Draco thought for a moment before correcting his posture and looking her straight in the eyes and saying the truth. "I am sad. I'm horrified actually. I treated you so cruelly, I bullied you mercilessly for something you couldn't control and demeaned your entire existence on a daily basis. I insulted your looks, which was just plain petty and ridiculous. I laughed at your intelligence because I knew you were smarter than me, but I didn't want you to know that. I mocked you for your confidence and tenacity and your very wild hair. I really can't fathom how that must have felt and I can't apologize enough for what I did. I know nothing I ever do will make up for those years and I can't begin to tell you how much I regret that now."

Her lips had parted slightly and her arms had fallen a bit. Her eyes held so much unreadable emotion. "Draco I… I want you to know that I've completely forgiven you. Harry wrote to me a week after that Sunday and told me you were a different person and that I could trust you and that I should. I wanted to make amends anyways, I don't like grudges and even though, yes, you really hurt me in our school years, I didn't want that to define who you were for me. Plus, can we really trust a 12 year old to define themselves for the rest of their lives?"

Draco smiled at her, no-holds-barred. "That is very true. Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself to you." Without any hesitation, she walked right up to him and threw her arms around him in the most sincere and caring hug of his life. After getting over a moment of shock, he wrapped his arms around her and held her for as long as she would allow. It felt better than anything in his life. She was warm and smelled like a place you would want to call home. Her hair was soft and her curls were smooth and supple beneath his fingertips. He didn't want it to end, even though it soon did.

She pulled away and looked at him like he meant something and he looked back like she was his whole world. "I really appreciated that, Draco. I mean it was completely unnecessary since I've forgiven you but still greatly appreciated." She tucked some curls behind her hair, a completely useless action as all they did was pop back out somehow more curly than before.

"I'm glad, thank you for forgiving me in the first place." He said with one last smile before she turned and went back inside, him returning to his task.

"Uhhh, what was that?" Hermione jumped a bit as she turned around from closing the door. Colin stood behind the counter, eyes wide and face plastered in confusion.

"He apologized." She said simply. "For everything."

"For everything? Like school and the slurs and all that?" He said, his hands waving about and his brow remaining quizzical.

She simply nodded.

"So you thought the best way to repay him for apologizing was a particularly long embrace?" His eyebrows turned up a bit and his expression was once again mischievous.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "People tend to hug other people when they feel a strong sense of emotion or duty to do so." She started walking randomly into one of the aisles to escape his interrogation.

"And was that emotion or duty I just saw out there?" He asked following right behind her.

"Emotion." She said with as little feeling as she could.

"And, uh, what kind of emotion may I ask?"

She gave him a rather pained look before giving up. "Ugh, I don't know!"

"You are aware, even though you have yet to reply to your stranger, you are still technically connected to him? Like, romantically?" He said in a slightly puzzled voice. "I mean I can't tell you how to live your life or anything but I feel like that breaks some sort of rule and you're usually against that sort of stuff."

"I know, I don't know what this is," she gestured towards the window, "or if it even is anything but I feel like it's something. I don't even know if I have feelings for Draco or if I'm just trying to distract myself. I felt something with my stranger though but apparently he didn't feel the same."

"Oh come now, of course he did. Hermione I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: he adored you. He was crazy about you. He IS crazy about you. Something happened and it sounds like it was beyond his control and though I'm not usually one to encourage second chances with people who stood you up, I most definitely encourage it with him." She looked at him hesitantly. "At least meet him so you can say you have. You don't have to run off and marry him, hell there doesn't even have to be a second date. But I think you'll regret it if you just let this fall by the wasteside."

She considered everything he said and it made vast amounts of sense. Her curiosity had been getting the best of her for months now, it would probably kill her if she went years not knowing. "Fine, I'll write him tonight and ask him to meet me the Sunday after next."

"Why not this Sunday?"

"Because I promised Hannah I'd help her with wedding things."

"Ah. Hannah loves you but I can't see her letting you out of an afternoon of wedding planning even for a good cause like this." Colin said with a smirk just as Draco was re-entering the shop. Colin gave her a wink before heading back towards his inventory. She smiled at Draco before calmly making her way back to the sales book.

Hermione arrived home that night feeling very carefree and almost dizzy with unexplainable contentment. She didn't know what to think of Draco. He certainly stumped her. She had started out very reluctant to get close to him, just apologize and put up with him, but not possibly feel something towards him. When she hugged him she found it exceptionally difficult to pull away as he was warm and comforting and he smelled like cologne. Not an offensive cologne, a subtle, mature, cologne. She felt like if she didn't hug him her heart would tear out of her chest due to its incessantly rapid beating.

She flung her coat onto the rack and sat down at her desk before doing anything else. She needed to end things with her stranger. She didn't want to do to him what she had done to Ron for so long. She did want to meet him though, she really wanted to meet him. She was thankful for the two week time frame as it gave her time to see what happened with Draco and for her to sort out her feelings. She sat at her desk pondering her options.

She decided after much deliberation that if things progressed with Draco in the next two weeks, she would meet her stranger in person just to quench the curiosity but would be able to truthfully tell him that he broke her heart and that she didn't see things between them working out romantically, but was willing to forgive him and remain friends. Being stood up had really put a damper on her confidence and she was pushing all of the good things about her stranger out of the forefronts of her mind. She was determined to be stupidly stubborn about it.

She picked up her quill and parchment and started writing that same line for the first time in a long time.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I know it's been a while. Probably too long, actually, but I've finally come to my decision. But, yes there is a but, I'd like to tell you in person. I feel I owe it to you to give you a truthful and dwelled-upon answer. And you owe me a meeting. I'm exceptionally curious and I fear if I never meet you it shall surely drive me mad._

 _If you don't mind and are free, I'd like to meet up Sunday after next (already booked this Sunday I'm afraid), at noon, in Diagon Alley. In front of Flourish and Blotts._

 _Thank you for waiting,_

 _Your Stranger_

She looked at her signature. She couldn't decide if the word " _your"_ bothered her or if she was just feeling the pangs of heartbreak all over again. Regardless, she sat up, folded the parchment, and looked to her window as the ever-faithful Henry sat on the sill.

Draco was shocked when he saw Henry at his window. He hadn't run that fast in weeks. He had almost given up hope on her ever replying. He practically kissed Henry on the beak as he plucked the letter from his talons and sent himself flying into his desk chair to once again be greeted by the very familiar:

 _Dear Stranger…_

He wasn't sure what Hermione's plans were this upcoming Sunday as she hadn't shared them with him, but he was rather disappointed it was not sooner. He couldn't wait to reveal himself. He wanted to be with her and he hoped she wouldn't hate him when she found out that he had been her stranger this whole time. He sorely hoped that this wouldn't end badly. Harry had assured him many times that it wouldn't, but he chose not to believe him.

Draco quickly penned a reply,

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _It's good to hear from you again. I can't wait to meet you. I'm sorry again for what happened. I promise you it was beyond my control. I would have loved nothing more than to have sat down with you that Sunday and had a long chat and warm Butterbeer._

 _Until we meet,_

 _Your Stranger_

Once Draco had sent the letter off with Henry, he sat back down at his desk and started a letter to Harry.

 _Would you be free to go to The Three Broomsticks this Sunday to discuss Hermione? I wouldn't say it's urgent, but certainly of interest._

 _-Draco_

Hermione got up early Sunday morning and got ready for the day. She was heading over to The Three Broomsticks at 10 o'clock to help Hannah. Hannah was quite a mess in the planning department; she had a venue and her dress but the flowers and the food and such were stumping her and she was awful at making big decisions.

By the time she'd pull on her coat, the small bit of snow that had been falling had finally given up and she was able to walk to the apparition point with little hassle.

She arrived at The Three Broomsticks promptly at 9:50, as she always insisted on being early when she could and made her way upstairs. The place didn't open for business until noon so they had plenty of time to discuss and make decisions.

She knocked on the parlor door and let herself in when she heard a preoccupied "come in" resound from somewhere behind the door.

"Hello, Hannah!" Hermione said as she closed the door behind her and made her way to the desk that Hannah was standing in front of.

"Hi 'Mione! How was the travel? I saw it was a bit snowy earlier?" She said as she met her for a hug.

"Not bad, the snow stopped right before I left my flat." Hermione said as she embraced Hannah and pulled off her scarf.

"I'm glad, it's always harder to get a good crowd on snow days." Hannah said nudging Hermione in jest.

"Glad you're so concerned for my well being." She said laughing as she laid her coat across a chair a few feet away. "So how's the wedding planning going?"

Hannah sighed indignantly. "Terribly awful. Flowers are a pain. Why even have flowers? What's the point? Am I going to need them later on? Do they hold tremendous sentimental value? No. No is the answer to any question regarding flowers."

"Well flowers do make a wedding look exceptionally pretty and they can be rather fun so I wouldn't make heavy assumptions about every flower just yet. Let's start simple, I'm imagining you've already tackled the favorite flower path but have you thought about colors? Have you chosen wedding colors?"

"We decided upon dark purple for one but can't seem to find another color that goes and that we both like. Any suggestions?"

"I would say maybe a light green or a softer yellow with a darker tone. Not full-on mustard or anything like that. You aren't getting married in the fall so you don't want too many really rich colors. Canary yellow is always nice too."

"How on earth do you know so much about wedding colors? Or colors in general?" Hannah said exasperated.

"I've read lots of interesting things. I read a book on the nature of colors once, it was very intriguing. Plus, I've been to many-a summer wedding and my mother adores them and likes to point out all the little things. Like the colors and why they are appropriate for that specific time of year."

"That's brilliant, wish I could get your mother to plan this."

"You have the next best thing."

"And what is that?"

"Her daughter." Hermione said with a smirk

"Very true." Hannah laughed. "I like the idea of yellow, though. A slight nod to Hufflepuff without being overly vulgar about it. Plus yellow and purple pair nicely and I think Neville will like it."

"A very good decision. Now picking flowers is going to be much easier. Do you have a favorite flower? Or a flower you feel slightly more biased towards?"

"I like daisies. Those are conveniently yellow. Have any other flower suggestions?"

"I think hydrangeas might look nice. They're very full and pretty to look at."

"That settles it then. Daisies and hydrangeas. A wonderful combination. Imagine that, you've been here not ten minutes and we have my top priority, which I've been dwelling on for weeks now, crossed off the list." Hannah said with a satisfied grin. "You are very efficient, my dear."

Hermione helped Hannah through four more decisions before it was time to open. They were still working through food and it was taking the longest of all of them combined. Hermione sat at the bar with a pen and a notepad, having given up on using parchment and a quill as that was simply ridiculous for wedding planning. Hannah manned the bar and when she could spare a minute she would stand by Hermione and they would run through a few possibilities.

After about an hour of deliberating food choices, they finally decided on some of Hannah and Neville's favorites that complimented each other and would be enjoyable for guests. Since wedding talk had finally subsided, they could talk freely about whatever they pleased. Hannah took the opportunity to berate her about her love life.

"I've heard from Colin that you and the new employee," she raised her eyebrows, "have been getting quite comfortable with each other, is that true?"

Hermione looked at her irked before sighing. "Yes, it is true. I don't know if he feels anything and I certainly don't know what I'm feeling but he's an enjoyable person to be around and he's easy to talk to."

"What about your stranger? Have you just stopped corresponding?"

"I wrote him last night actually."

"You did?!" Hannah asked excitedly. "What did you say?"

"Well, I scheduled another meeting for next Sunday in Diagon Alley. I figured when I wrote it that I would see how things went between Draco and I in the next week or so and then decide how to approach it when the day came around."

"And how have you decided to approach it?"

"Well, not anything definite yet. If things start progressing between Draco and I then I'll simply tell my stranger that I forgive him but think that, since he broke my heart, we should remain friends and that I'm very glad to meet him. I don't know if I'd ever want to be romantically connected, I have a lot of mixed feelings about the whole ordeal."

"I think that's rather brilliant. Sounds a little like something that would have happened in 4th year or something, but still smart."

"Thanks that makes me feel loads better." Hermione said jokingly.

She sat over a slowly vanishing pint of butterbeer for the next 20 minutes before the bell rang over the front door. It was not the door that got Hermione's attention but rather Hannah walking up to her and gesturing over her shoulder.

"Speak of the devil."

Harry and Draco walked into the pub together and took a seat at a table close to the opposite side of the bar. They sat down and seemed to be continuing what was already a rather indepth conversation. Hermione tentatively looked over to see Draco in his green jumper, his hair slightly messier than usual and a small smile on his lips. He spotted her before she could look away.

She didn't see him turn to Harry and quickly tell him that "now was his chance" before he got up and made his way over to her side of the bar.

"Why what a pleasant surprise. Can I ask what a girl like you is doing in a place like this?" He asked jokingly as he took the stool next to her.

"I could ask the same of you. Considering your arrival with none other than Harry Potter makes it even more surprising." She quipped. "I'm helping Hannah plan her wedding. She's awful at making decisions and I am very versed at it so she thought it would do her some good to seek my assistance."

"I'm sure that's the case in many things, I seem to remember that being the case at Hogwarts."

"It often was." She smiled. "I seem to be bumping into you all the time now."

He smiled. "Indeed. I was wondering, actually, if maybe you'd be willing to bump into me next Sunday?"

Hermione froze in her seat. Was he asking her on a date? "Um, well I've got something at noon, I'm not sure how long it will take. Why do you ask?" She wanted to get to the point.

"Well I was wondering then if maybe we could grab breakfast. There's a little cafe in the village near the Manor and I'd like to get to know you better over tea and biscuits instead of books and inventory lists. If that works for you, of course."

"Yes, that would be fine. Uh, when and where?" She said, her hands were shaking so clasped them tightly and set them in her lap. She felt she was trying to swallow the nervousness at this point.

"I was thinking we could meet in Diagon Alley, at the apparition point, and we could side-long to the village. I wouldn't want to subject you to apparting to the Manor and I'm afraid I don't know the name of the village, so you'll have to simply trust me. Maybe meet at 9?" He said smoothly, though he seemed to be expertly choking back nerves.

"Sounds great. Not much like bumping, but still great." She said with a small smile and what she was sure were tomato-red cheeks.

"Good, I'll see you at nine on Sunday then." He smiled before returning to his table with Harry. Hermione turned to see Harry looking at her with his usual boyish charm and apparent approval of Draco. He flashed his goofy smile before turning back to their lunch.

"Did I think what just happened actually just happen?" Hannah asked as she came around the corner of the bar.

Hermione could feel the blood rushing through her cheeks and nodded wildly, holding back a ginormous grin.

"Well go on then, tell me!" Hannah said squeaking. Hermione glanced back at the boys who were thoroughly engrossed in their lunches, Draco looking exceptionally happy which only made her more ecstatic.

"He asked me to go to breakfast with him next Sunday."

"Breakfast?"

"Well I told him I was busy at noon. He's taking me to a cafe in a village near his house."

Hannah's eyes widened a bit and she grinned widely. "I never thought I would be rejoicing over your romantic connection to Draco Malfoy, but here I am and it's definitely happening. Looks like mystery man is being designated as a friend." She said teasingly.

Hermione was a bit saddened at the thought, but she was a lot happier than she thought she would be at the prospect of going out with Draco. She really liked Draco. She genuinely enjoyed his company, and if neither of these things worked out, if their breakfast didn't go over well, she would be perfectly content to just be his friend. They talked about interesting things, he was always willing to hear her more obscure opinions, and was always willing to read a book she recommended. She was glad that she was friends with Draco. She was glad that she liked Draco.

Draco sat through the rest of his and Harry's lunch trying in vain to contain his excitement. It had been a stroke of luck that she had been here. Harry had been trying to talk him into asking her out in order to establish romantic interest and just make absolute sure before Sunday. Harry said that Draco had to do it the next time he saw her or else he'd lose his will power.

"Well, that was very successful." Harry stated as he finished the last of his lunch. "So, how are you going to go about Sunday?"

"Well, breakfast at 9. It's a casual place so hopefully she won't feel uncomfortable. I just want to be able to talk to her without the work surrounding or without Colin around. But we're meeting in Diagon Alley in front of the shop actually. I think I'll let her get there first again and then try to be as unassuming as possible when I approach her. I hope she won't hate me for not telling her."

"I don't think she could hate you at this point. But just so you're aware, if anyone is willing to listen, it's Hermione. If you explain yourself in a very kind and logical way she will respect you for it."

Draco sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I have no clue what I'm going to say to her. I mean what do you say in a situation like this?"

"Well I doubt there's ever been a situation like this before so you're inventing the solution. That's something Hermione will love about it all. First ones to do, and therefore first people to figure it out."

"Very true." Draco said before turning to see Hermione approach the table.

"Thought I'd stop by to say hello, Harry, before I leave." She said as Harry got up and gave her a hug. "How was lunch?"

"Magnificent, Hannah really blows me away. Going to have to let Neville know that he snatched up a good one."

"You will, indeed." She said with a sweet smile. "Well, I'm going to head home but you better write soon and dinner should probably happen sometime in the near future. We've all been so terribly busy."

"I agree, I'll have to see when Ginny returns from Harpies training and maybe we can schedule something for when she's in town." Ginny had been off training with the Holyhead Harpies for a while and had the opportunity to come home every couple of months. Harry said it didn't bother him but it was crystal clear when you looked at him that he was pained by the fact that she was so far away for such long periods of time.

"Good idea, I miss her and I somehow missed the last time she was in town." Hermione gave Harry another hug before turning to him. "And I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning." She said teasingly.

"I'll be there, when have I ever been late?" He baited. Their banter was becoming particularly good and came very easy to them at this point. She smiled at him one last time before turning and leaving. He watched, utterly happy, as she disappeared out the door.

—

 **A/N:** Sorry it took me so long to get this up! School and work got busy and then this freaking site wouldn't let me update it for some reason, ugh. Anyways, we're in the home stretch here, only a few chapters left and I'm working on the last two! Got some new stuff in the works as well.


	13. Chapter 13

It had been two days since Draco asked Hermione out and work on Monday had been slightly awkward. Not necessarily in the bad way, in more of a tense way. There seemed to be a lot of unspoken feelings between the two even considering their letter-relationship. He was aware that she had possibly been in love with the letter-Draco but he wasn't sure how exactly she felt about him.

Anyways, it was Tuesday now and that evening was Draco's last night to clear the last of his things out of the Manor. He had found a flat in Harry's building that had apparently been vacant for ages because the main window looked right into the flat of a man who lived in the building next door, and he was apparently a frequently indecent man. Draco didn't see a problem with this as he could simply cast a charm to keep the man unseen and it was only temporary after all. Plus, this flat was in the Muggle world and having Harry around would certainly be a help.

He got to work before Colin and usually had a few minutes to himself with Hermione which was nice. He wanted to ask her if she'd be willing to come by the Manor and pick up the rest of the books he had donated and possibly snag a few more. He was nervous beyond reason. The last time Hermione had been to the Manor, the only time Hermione had been to the Manor, she had been brutally tortured by his Aunt. He took a few deep breaths before entering the shop.

"Morning Draco!" Hermione called from the front.

"Morning!" He peeled off his coat and made his way to the front. "Hey I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?"

She looked at him with her big brown eyes and he felt at ease instantly. "Yeah, of course what is it?"

"Um, well I wouldn't blame you at all if you didn't want to but, tonight is my last night in the Manor and I have to get the last of everything out, and I still have quite a few books that need a home. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to drop by and pick some up for the store?"

She pondered for a moment. "I'd love to, but on one condition."

"And what is that?" He asked with a small smile.

"I get to keep one book for myself."

He smiled furiously. "Of course, you can keep as many as you like."

"Thank you, what time would you like me by?"

"Would you be willing to just come home with me after work?"

"That would be best because if I go home there is a great chance I will fall asleep."

"Not sleeping well lately?" He asked with concern.

"Not necessarily unwell, just been busy and been up late thinking a lot."

"Thinking? About what?"

"Life. It's been very odd lately."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear it." He said wittily as their usual banter commenced.

She laughed, "Not a bad odd, a good odd. But nonetheless a lot of drama that I'm not accustomed to."

"You're not accustomed to drama? You do realize you were best friends with Harry Potter all throughout school? If that's not a dramatic lifestyle I'm not sure what is."

"Not that kind of drama. Dealing with Dark Lords is no sweat off my back but dealing with relational drama is not exactly my forte. There is surprisingly more now than there ever was in school."

"Really? I thought Weasley surely created plenty of it for you."

She scoffed at him sarcastically. "He certainly did sixth year, and rather a bit fourth year as well," she added as a second thought, "but other than that I've never had to deal with boys and their crazy emotions." She said teasingly as she wiped down the counter.

"Ah yes, us and our crazy emotions. Speaking of that, how's your mystery man? You reply to his apology yet?"

"I figured this would crop up eventually, and yes, as a matter of fact, I have."

"...And?" He asked impatiently. He wanted to act the interested friend even though he was perfectly aware of her answer.

"I asked him to meet me this Sunday at noon, right out front."

"Out in front of the shop?" He asked.

"Yes… do you think it a bad idea?" Her brow was quizzical again as she began seeking out his counsel.

"Not a bad idea per se, but it might be risky letting him know where you work."

"Why would it be risky?"

"Well then he would come in everyday and try to talk to you as often as possible." Which was true, very true.

"Well I didn't say I was going to tell him I worked here, I just told him to meet in front of it."

"Ah, yes that's much better." He nodded as Colin came in, a few minutes earlier than his usual arrival time.

The day finally came to an end and Colin made his way out the door unceremoniously. Hermione lagged behind, cleaning up the last bit and locking the door. Draco was waiting in the back room for her. She put her coat on and followed him out the back door. It was a bit snowy out, or rather the remnants of snow were pushed up against the sides of buildings and roads, but it was still chilly. They casually made their way to the apparition point, making friendly small talk about the day.

"Well," Draco said offering her his hand. "You ready?"

She nodded in agreement and took his hand, they were gone in an instant.

They arrived in the foyer of the Manor. It was dark and dismal and everything Hermione had remembered it being. Except bare, it was completely empty, a shell. There was no furniture and everything had been taken off the walls. The carpets had been rolled up, there looked to be three of them by a wall on the other side of the room. It felt depressing to be back. She was under much nicer circumstances the second time around, of course, but still a bit difficult.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, his face looking more concerned than ever. "You can leave if it's too hard for you, the last thing I want is for this to be hard for you."

She gave one last look around the room before meeting his worried gaze. "No, I'm fine. I just never thought I would be back, and here I am. Although this time I'm glad to be here." She smiled at him reassuringly.

"Okay, good. The library's this way." He said as he began to walk down a very dimly lit hallway with very little to recommend it. They walked for a minute or so before Draco stopped in front of ornate mahogany double doors on the right. He pushed open one of the massive doors and ushered her inside. It was brighter in the library, warmer because of all the book covers that gave it color and life. There were an array of books scattered in stacks on the floor, still no furniture though she could imagine many high-backed, plush leather chairs and possibly a desk made of fine, polished wood.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked as he came up behind her and silently offered to take her coat.

"It's lovely, a little too dark for my taste, but book-wise it's lovely." She said with teasing honesty. "So where are the books you wanted me to take off your hands?"

"You're looking at them." He said standing next to her.

"And where exactly is it that I'm supposed to be looking?" She said, mildly confused.

"The whole library." He said casually.

"The WHOLE library?!" She turned to him, utterly shocked. "You're willing to donate all of these to the shop? There has to be hundreds of them!" She said passing him to survey a shelf filled with potions books.

"Yes, well I don't need them. I saved my favorites, but I've read most of these or I find no interest in them. You might as well put them to good use."

She turned to him, her eyes feeling a bit too watery for her comfort. "Draco, thank you. That's so incredibly kind, this is so generous."

"Well I'm glad you like it." He said smiling at her. She turned to face the shelves one last time. She didn't notice that his gaze lingered, he watched her as she pulled a book of the shelf and flipped through the yellowing pages. She was content, and so was he.

They were about two hours into packing up all the books and they were almost finished, they had about three shelves left. They were putting them into boxes and then would apparate the boxes to the store, the poor back room was about to explode from massive overstock. Hermione was currently sitting on the ground holding three hardcover leather books trying to find the best way to arrange them into the current box she was filling. Draco was on the other side of the room pulling books off the shelf that fit the category of his box. Hermione had decided to make it easier on themselves come unpacking time, they might as well pack books of similar genre together. (The amount of books on Potions was incredible. He and his father had both been very accomplished at it.) Draco glanced across the room at Hermione as much as he could manage without being noticed. She was, thankfully, very ingrained in her work. She rarely looked away from the task at hand and he admired that about her. He himself was a very distractible person, especially when there was a particularly pretty girl in the room, and he was certainly preoccupied now.

She had tied her hair up about 45 minutes into the whole ordeal and she had done so rather haphazardly, but to him it looked stunning. There were shorter curls that managed to escape the bun and they framed her face perfectly. The Manor was unfortunately chilly from the lack of furniture and the sophisticated air, so he had started a fire and now her cheeks were a bit rosier than usual.

"Hey, Hermione, can I ask you something?"

"She looked up in a bit of a work daze. "Yes, of course, is something wrong?"

"Well, I asked you here to help me clear out the books and all and I'm going to finish the rest of the house once you leave but, is it okay if I come in late tomorrow? They're demolishing the house and I need to be here for it. I kind of want to be here for it." He said, a bit nervous.

"Of course, Draco, " She said standing up and setting her books on top of the box, "Do you need Harry or I here with you?"

Draco felt all warm inside at the thought that she would want to be there for him, but he felt this was between him and his past, a part of his life that he wanted to forget and didn't want her to be a part of. Unfortunately, she was, but he had considered their friendship a fresh start. "No, no, it's okay I'll be fine. I don't think I'll cry if that's what you're thinking, but I do think it's more of a personal thing. I'll be fine though, thank you for asking." He said with a reassuring smile.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? You can take the rest of the day off to get settled." She said trying to compromise.

"It's alright, all of the things I'm keeping have been stashed away in my flat, so I'm as settled as I'll ever be. I'll be into work no later than 11 o'clock, I promise."

She smiled at him, small and sweet. "Well, I'm happy for you. I think this is exactly what you need."

"I agree."

"What are your plans for the place after it's all blown to bits?" She asked, they had begun to make their way to the window seat which looked out over the gardens and they took their seats next to each other.

"I'd like something smaller. I mean, I assume it'll be just me for a while but I'd like to get married and maybe start a family someday and I'd like there to be room enough for that. But the Manor is ginormous, it's unnecessarily huge and overwhelming. I'd like it to be brighter as well. I've spent my whole life in a dark, cold, emotionless home and I'm ready for a change." He looked at her when he mentioned the marriage part. He imagined that life with her would be a dream, and that he really didn't deserve what he had with her right now, much less anything more serious.

"I feel like you're the type of person who has very specific ideas about things but doesn't bother to share them, like floorplans. I've bet you've got it all mapped out."

"I've got an idea of what I want, yes. I'd like to go about it the muggle way, though. Have people actually build the house instead of just swishing and flicking. People in the village always give me odd looks cause they don't know where I've come from. People walk by here all the time and don't know there's a house, but I don't feel like being cordoned off anymore."

"Well I think that's a splendid idea, and I can't wait to see it, I'm sure it will be lovely." She said gently as she got back up and made her way back to her box of books.

Draco stood at an exceptionally large distance from his home and watched as a group of wizards surrounded his home, lifting their wands in unison. He watched with satisfaction as sections of his house started to crumble. It started to sort of implode. It wasn't as violent as imploding, more like receding into itself at an alarmingly fast pace. But within minutes, his childhood home stood before him, demolished into a twelve foot pile of grey dust. He stood somewhat reverently on the land that the Manor had once been, to pay his respects to the Malfoy name, but he could barely contain his happiness as he had just witnessed every terrifying memory, every depressing day, every scarring scenario, turn into a heap of dust at his feet.

He took a deep breath and looked out over the wide expanse of land. Manor-less. It was a wonderful sight. The white-rock beneath his feet looked plain and barren, much less elegant without a black, stone manor sitting atop it. He heard one of the wizards call him from a few feet away and turned to go confer with the group of men who would be rebuilding his home.

They spent several minutes going over plans. They discussed the number of rooms, how tall the windows should be, the different types of materials they should use, and it took about an hour. Draco glanced at his watch, he had given himself a nice cushions and it wasn't even 10:30 yet. The workers departed and he stood in silence for a few moments, watching as the wind picked up and began blowing away the ashy remnants of his home.


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of the week flew by rather quickly and before Hermione knew it, it was Saturday afternoon and she was sitting at the counter on a particularly dry day as a quiet customer browsed the sports section. Draco and Colin were in the back dealing with the massive amounts of inventory thanks to Draco's generous donation of around 375 books. It was truly ridiculous.

Hermione had had enough of inventory, and Colin and Draco were very aware of it, so they told her to man the front and that they would handle the mess in the back. She sat there, twiddling her thumbs and doing nothing of importance, driving herself mad. She wanted to occupy herself with some task but there was nothing to do. She could help the boys but they had it under control and the back room was too insanely packed to house another book much less a third person.

Another customer entered the store just then, a middle aged woman with dark hair and an elegant face.

"Welcome to Flourish and Blotts!" Hermione said cheerily out of habit as the woman closed the door behind her. The woman simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgment before heading to the muggle studies section. Hermione was once again without anything to do, hoping one of the customers would quickly make a decision and come to the counter so she could at least use the cash register. She glanced down at the thin watch on her wrist a few times in a span of about five minutes. The shop closed at 7 o'clock and it was currently 5:32. An hour and a half left. That was it. And then she could go home and painstakingly deliberate over what she should wear the following day. She wasn't sure if she should dress up a bit for her breakfast with Draco, or maybe remain casual as she still wasn't sure if it was a date or just a simple breakfast between friends. Either way she wanted to look nice, presentable. Her stranger, though, that was a different story. She wanted to look nice for that, make a good impression but also show him what a catch he was missing out on when he stood her up. She wasn't usually one for revenge, but this wasn't revenge, it was just sticking it to an exceptionally rude man.

Eventually, both quiet customers made their way to checkout and once the sophisticated middle aged woman had made her way out of the store and down the street, Hermione closed the door, locked it, and turned the small golden plaque from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED'. She made her way to the back room, glad to be done with the day.

"Hello, boys." She said as she entered the backroom.

"What are you doing back here? We told you we'd handle it." Colin said from a bent over position as he dug threw a box that was a bit too far away.

"I decided to close up a bit early since there seems to be a low flow of customers and I am very ready to be done with the day." She said as she picked up a few books that had been strewn about.

"Well I'm not going to protest an extended Saturday night." Colin said as he straightened himself out and made his way to the coatrack. "I'll see you two on Monday then, have a nice Sunday." He said with a wink in Draco's direction before pulling on his coat and hastily making his way out the door.

"Did he just wink at you?" Hermione turned to Draco and berated him the moment Colin shut the door.

"Yes, he asked about Sunday plans and I told him we were going to breakfast tomorrow morning and now he's convinced that we're secretly seeing each other." Draco said with a small smile and that look that said " _Ridiculous. Right?"_ to which Hermione chuckled in agreement and a look that said " _Yes, absolutely ridiculous."_ "Anyways," Draco said putting down his books and grabbing his coat. "I _will_ see you tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, of course! 9 o'clock at the apparition point, it's on my calendar." She said hastily as he nodded and smiled before closing the door behind him. She was on her own now, her and her thoughts. She really liked Draco and honestly it was bothering her that she wouldn't know what to do about her stranger until a few hours before meeting him, but that was part of the fun, right?

Draco and Colin were about four hours into inventory and had been having a nice chat when they finally got around to casual conversation topic #17: weekend plans. They were very friendly with each other but they often were subjected to the basic conversation boost when they hit the expected lulls. Colin had initiated the subject, saying he was planning to stop by his mother's home to check up on her and then have dinner with some old school pals. Draco was a bit reluctant to tell him what he was up to, but at this point he knew he could trust Colin and there really wasn't any damage he could do.

"Um, well, I'm having breakfast with Hermione." He said as casually as possible. Regardless, it stopped Colin in his tracks.

"Breakfast with Hermione?" Draco nodded in reply. "You're having breakfast with Hermione? Is it a date?" He asked, obviously very concerned, much more than Draco thought he would be.

"Not really, at least I don't think so. I just wanted to get to know her better in a setting other than work. We often have to cut our conversations short while on the job and I'd like the chance to talk to her without the constraints." Draco said plainly as he continued his section of inventory.

"You do know she's involved with someone, right? I'm fairly positive she's mentioned it to you." Colin said, looking at him like he used to, like he was turning into scum right in front of his eyes.

"I'm well aware." Draco said, a bit annoyed and slightly hurt, getting up to cross the room in search of a different box.

"And you didn't think to maybe consider that before asking her out? Are you trying to sabotage her relationship or something?" Colin said, following him around.

"No, I'm not." Draco said pointedly.

"Then can I ask why you so heedlessly decided to ask her out?"

"It was not heedless."

"Well you obviously ignored the fact that she's seeing someone else, so it seems pretty heedless to me."

"She's not seeing someone else." Draco said as he plopped the stack of books he was holding down on a chair.

"You keep telling yourself that, but sorry man, she is." Colin said, clearly very exasperated. Draco had to give in, he had to tell Colin. He also didn't want Colin to be mad when he found out the identity of Hermione's mystery man, because he knew Colin would be miffed with him for not divulging his secret beforehand.

"No she's not, because I'm the person she's seeing."

"You haven't even had your one date, you're not the person she's seeing." Colin was clearly not one for subtlety.

"No, I mean I'm the man she's been writing letters to for months on end, I'm the stranger who stood her up at The Three Broomsticks, but I didn't really, and I'm the man she told you and Hannah all about." Draco said in a hushed yet harsh tone. Colin simply stood there, eyes wide and dumbfounded.

"Not possible, that's impossible. You're the guy?" He said quietly. Draco nodded. "You've got to be joking. And you've been hiding right under her nose this whole time?"

"Sadly, yes." Draco said calmly, finally able to ease up.

"Wow. You didn't stand her up. You came, and you showed up on time. You even sat with her, and she didn't even realize." Colin was staring at the wall, processing this new information.

"Yes." Draco said, disappointed in his decision slightly as he could have already had more than a month with Hermione had he just walked in and told her the truth.

"Wow." Colin asked, looking at Draco now. "And you took this job, because?"

"I was afraid when I walked into The Three Broomsticks that she would make a run for it the moment she saw it was me, so I decided I would try to make her like me for me before she met the person she'd been hoping for. I didn't want her to completely ignore the months of lovely letters and obvious attachment just because it was all behind the face of a Slytherin bully." He said, sitting down on the chair. "I asked her for the job because I wanted to get to know her better as me, I also conveniently wasn't a fan of my old job. I think it's worked though, I think she at least enjoys me as a person and won't immediately hate me at our meeting tomorrow."

"That's right, you guys "meet" tomorrow. But don't worry at all about her not liking you, trust me she's quite enamored."

Draco looked at him suspiciously. "If she's quite enamored with me, then why would you discourage me from asking her out?" He asked.

"I wanted Hermione to see if the guy she's spent months pining after was worth it, apparently he is cause he went to the trouble of changing jobs and all to make sure she liked him, so I'm not all that worried now."

"Well I guess I'm glad then." Draco said as he picked up his inventory once more.

Hermione had finally made it through her front door and she settled herself on the couch in a great harrumph. She had tossed her coat and bag aside and was currently staring at the ceiling, her mind in total disarray and hoping that tomorrow would not be the worst day of her life. She finally mustered her strength and made her way to the kitchen to put on a pot of tea before raiding her closet for clothing options.

She opened up the closet door and appraised the hangers of cozy jumpers and flowing blouses before pulling out a few things that looked promising. " _Understated"_ she thought as she arranged a few breakfast possibilities on the bed in front of her. She had pulled out a few jumpers and cardigans and stared at them ominously until deciding upon a mustard colored jumper that was very subdued and flattering. She pulled out her straight-leg black jeans and her patent leather, black loafers.

"That's good, that's casual, that doesn't scream 'this is a date' which is very good." She said to herself, trying in vain to figure out her feelings. She was usually very good at figuring out feelings, especially her own, but this was proving to be incredibly difficult. She shook her head furiously before looking back to her closet for the second event of the day. She pulled out her periwinkle jumper. "Definitely." She said to herself, placing it on the bed before returning to pull out a black corduroy skirt that hit just a few inches above her knees and was exceedingly comfortable. She dug around for some black stockings before laying it all out in a neat pile on the chair near the door.

She went back out into the living room, quite satisfied with her decisions, and was in the midst of pouring herself a cup of tea when she heard tapping against the window. She turned to see Henry at her window sill, regal as always. She quickly made her way to the window and retrieved the letter he had clutched in his talons. She sat down and ripped open the letter, very curious to see what he could possibly be sending her now and hoping it wasn't a cancellation.

 _Dear Stranger,_

 _I don't know if you'll be wearing your periwinkle jumper again, if you do I'll certainly spot you quickly, but I was wondering if you could send me that red-leather bound copy of Hamlet so you'll know who I am and I'll have zero excuses to not show up since I'll have to return the book to you. If you would rather not entrust me with such an endeavor, I completely understand, just wondering._

 _I'm excited to finally meet you. I'm still incredibly sorry about the unfortunate ending to our first almost-meeting. I know I can never make it up to you, I'm just asking you to please give me another chance._

 _Until we meet again,_

 _Your Stranger_

She smiled against her will and snagged the copy of Hamlet from her overflowing bookshelf. She searched the bottom drawer of her desk for some butcher paper and twine and had the book wrapped up within minutes. She quickly jotted a note on the top;

 _You better return this in tip-top shape. I'm expecting the best from you this time around._

She fastened the package onto Henry's ankle and watched as he flew off. Possibly towards her destiny. Then again, she wasn't one to buy into something so cliche.

Hermione woke up to a crisp and clear fall day and glanced at the clock. She had an hour to get ready before meeting Draco so she rushed through a shower and tried about 12 different charms on her hair before it finally cooperated. She had tamed the curls a bit but it still wasn't to her liking so she pinned it back in a ponytail with a tortoiseshell barrette. She went back to her bedroom and changed into her jumper and jeans. She slipped on her loafers and fastened a small silver chain around her neck that held up a very small, very subtle, letter 'H'. Ron had gifted it to her the first Christmas after the War and she had worn it almost everyday for at least a year. When their relationship started going downhill she had almost forgotten about it, but here she was, about to possibly enter into a relationship with another man and finding herself wanting to wear it again. She gave herself one last good look in the mirror before grabbing her dark grey trench coat and heading out the door.

She made her way to the apparition point and just like that she was standing in Diagon Alley looking about for any sign of Draco. She waited for a few minutes before being startled by a sudden 'pop' and turning to see a bright-eyed, blonde standing before her.

"Good morning, you ready to go?" He asked, offering her his hand.

"About as ready as I'll ever be." She said with a smile as she took his hand, and within a second, they were gone.

They arrived on a country road almost completely shrouded with leaves, surrounded by green pastures and trees brimming with orange and yellow foliage. The snow that had plagued Diagon Alley earlier that month obviously hadn't touched this little corner of the world. It was like a scene right out of a book, or possibly a Robert Frost poem.

"Truly spectacular scenery. I'm very impressed, Draco." She said as her gaze broke from the sea of autumn colors before her.

"I'm glad you like it, I'm lucky enough to see it everyday so I'm happy I got the opportunity to share it with you." He said, his hand still clutching hers. "Well the village is off this way, shall we?"

"We shall." She replied, and off they went down the spiraling pavement road.

They had found a small table right by the window at the little Cafe right after placing their orders and were staring out at life as it passed by on bicycles and in grocery baskets. Draco loved looking out the window, he enjoyed observing life. Especially seemingly serene Muggle life; they looked as though they didn't have a care in the world. Hermione sat across from him, looking very practical and exceptionally pretty in her mustard-yellow jumper. She was quite a sight.

"So how did you discover this place? I'm assuming your parents didn't bring you here often?" Hermione asked, breaking their short moment of silence.

"No, never. I discovered it about seven months ago, I was rather frustrated one day and decided to go for a brisk walk when I happened upon the village and realized I'd never been there before. I went exploring and came across this place and I've loved it ever since."

"I'm glad to hear it, us Muggles impressed you with our casual atmospheres and caffeinated drinks." She said.

"You did indeed." He said as a waitress came up to their table with their cups of coffee and a pastry for each of them.

"So, tell me, how are you feeling about meeting your mystery man?" He asked casually. She stopped for a moment before answering.

"I'm not sure. I still don't exactly know how to feel, I'm still somewhat angry but a part of me is just curious. I wonder if it would have actually worked, you know?" She said, barely meeting his gaze.

"You don't think it would have?" Draco asked, holding his coffee cup just under his lips.

"Well it could have but you never know, romance can be quite fickle." She said matter-of-factly.

"Have you written him anything else?" He asked.

"Not really, I mean a few times to apologize and to set a new date to meet but other than that, not at all. I don't feel like I'm really missing much though, life has been so busy and all, which is unfortunate. I really liked him, he was wonderful, he just hurt me and writing him hurt even worse." She said staring at her croissant.

"I'm so sorry he did that to you." Draco said looking right at her. She blushed a bit and her eyes met his before she laughed it off and turned her attention back to her breakfast.

They talked for another hour and a half about a various assortment of things; how awful the Ministry was, their favorite books from each section of the shop, Draco's friendship with Harry, Hermione's breakup with Ron which lead to Draco's breakup with Pansy, she told him all about classic films he'd have to see sometime and her favorite types of music, he told her all about the house remodel and how he'd need her help deciding a few things because he was awful at deciding things, and they went on merrily until the clock hit 11.

"Well, I've had an absolutely lovely time but I should be getting back, I've got to get ready for the big meet and greet." She said with an air of sarcasm.

"Ah, yes. Wouldn't want to keep you." He said, trying to contain his smile and control his nerves as he pulled on his olive colored coat. They made their way out of the Cafe and back up the road, savoring the last few minutes of conversation before they finally reached the place where they'd arrived.

"So, you'll tell me how things go with your mystery man?" He asked.

"Most definitely, it'll be the first thing I say to you tomorrow morning." She said, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"Good, because I want you to be happy, and I don't want this mystery man to ruin that for you." He said seriously as he met her eyes. She stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly lost, before taking a deep breath.

"Thank you, that means a lot." She said with a shy smile. "I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later." He repeated. She gave him one last smile before disappearing in a whirlwind. He sighed heavily before apparating back to his flat. He walked the small ways from the apparition point to his building and ran up the stairs to spiff up a bit and grab Hamlet before heading back out.

Hermione made her way back to her flat and hurriedly changed into her skirt and periwinkle jumper. She took out the tortoiseshell barrette from her hair and tried to flatten it a bit. She brushed her teeth and straightened out her jumper before giving herself a satisfyingly long stare. She was ready. She took a few deep breaths and gave herself a stern stare-down to mentally prepare herself. She slipped back into her loafers and trenchcoat and made her way back out the door. It was only a few minutes to noon when she arrived at the apparition point and she quickly made her way to the shop. She looked around a bit before sitting down on the front stoop and hoping she wasn't sitting here for nothing. She glanced at her watch, 11:58. He would surely be here soon. The Alley was almost completely barren except for a group of middle-aged men that were making their way towards the Leaky Cauldron at an incredibly slow pace. She watched them, trying to occupy her mind.

"Hey stranger." She swore she could have snapped her neck at how fast she turned around. She could barely believe who was standing in front of her. Draco Malfoy was standing three feet away, holding her red-leather bound Hamlet, and looking as brilliant as ever. "Thought you might appreciate it if I was a minute early instead of just not showing up." He said, she couldn't tell if he was smiling or not, just looking very expectant and obviously hoping she wouldn't hate him.

"It was you?" She said, hardly believing the situation in front of her as she stood up to meet his gaze.

"Hermione, please don't be mad. I did show up at The Three Broomsticks that Sunday, which of course you know, I brought Harry along with me for moral support and when we realized the person I was meeting was you, I realized I couldn't just go in there and sit down and expect you to like me, or believe me for that matter. So I asked you for a job. I wanted to get to know you as me and have you like me for me, instead of just who I was in my letters. And if you don't want either version of me, that's okay, I completely understand. Just say the word and I'll leave. I'll be heartbroken, but I'll leave." He said, finally taking a moment to breathe and looking at her like his life depended on whatever she was about to say.

"Well then don't leave, or else we'll both be heartbroken." She said smiling, feeling as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Draco was beaming.

She stepped off the front stoop and she and Draco were now within a foot of each other. "Do you really want to be with me?" He asked.

"Of course I do! I was infatuated with a mysterious man who wrote me the most charming letters I'd ever read. I was hurt when things didn't work out the first time around but I was silently thankful because I found myself in a bit of a jam as I was falling really hard for you and didn't quite know what to think of it. But now I do and I can't tell you how relieved I am."

Draco hesitated a moment. "I'm glad you think that, because I want you to know that I felt awful not telling you the truth. I was lying to the woman I love everyday and-"

"You love me?" Hermione interrupted, suddenly nervous. A fleeting look of panic swept across Draco's face and he swallowed hard before looking back up at her.

"Are you okay with that?" He asked nervously.

"As long as you're okay with me loving you back." She said, a bit bashfully.

"I'm fine with that, seems like a good arrangement." He said, his usual dry wit shining through.

"Good, cause-" She wasn't able to get the rest of her sentence out as he grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss. A kiss that was passionate but at the same time exceptionally gentle and comforting. It held months of expectations and longing and weeks of pent-up feelings. It was the most satisfying and most loving kiss she'd ever experienced and she couldn't help but smile a bit. They pulled away after a few seconds, a bit flustered but still embracing. "Cause I'm quite attached and I plan on sticking around for quite a while." She said, finishing her sentence.

"I was hoping you would." He said with a smile before pulling her back into another kiss.

After many more minutes outside in the freezing outdoors, Hermione unlocked the shop and they sat in the back room for hours, talking about what had just happened.

"So, you've been my employee and simultaneously the mystery man I've been in love with for months, and somehow I never put the pieces together?" Hermione said as they were sitting down at the small table in the back.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't, then again we were very different in our letters and we didn't have much occasion to discuss things that might have given it away."

"You did mention that Hamlet was your favorite Shakespeare on that Sunday. Now that I know, there are a lot of times I look back on and realize I wasn't picking up simple hints. It's so obvious now that it was you, I'm shocked with myself."

"Yes well, I still wasn't sure where this was headed at that point and I thought hints might be helpful."

"I still had no idea." She said with exasperation.

"Well it's understandable, I came into the picture when you weren't thinking particularly well of your stranger. Hints were probably the worst idea, in hindsight."

"Draco?" She said, interrupting the subject at hand.

"Yes?" He asked somewhat nervous for her question.

"I just want you to know that I appreciate all the effort you went to, but if you had just come in on that fateful Sunday afternoon and talked to me I don't think I would've had much of a choice but to believe that you were the man I was writing. It would've been hard for me to accept the fact that I loved you at the time, yes, but by then I had realized there was no use in holding a grudge. I'm just afraid we've wasted so much time we could've spent together already." She said, looking slightly sad but very hopeful.

"I don't think it was a waste of time. Honestly, I know now you would have been gracious towards me if I had just come in, but I didn't want to spend the beginning of a relationship with you trying to mend old baggage. I wanted to make sure we became friends first, got all the old rubbish cleared out of the way during that time, and when you were ready to meet me for real, you wouldn't be hesitant." Draco said, hoping she would understand. He knew she would, she was an exceptionally forgiving person, he just didn't want to somehow end up hurting her.

"When did you become smarter than me?" Hermione shaking her head and staring at him lovingly.

Draco laughed at that. "I will never be smarter than you, that is a fact I am completely sure of. You're brilliant."

Hermione blushed like mad. "Why thank you. Of course I already knew that, but it's nice to hear it occasionally." She smiled as her tone changed from appreciative to joking. They smiled and spent the rest of the afternoon talking about each other and their letters and how crazy it was that they had ended up the way they were now. Crazy good, that is.


	15. Chapter 15

_Late February 2002_

Hermione opened the door of her flat to let Draco in.

"Hello, love." He said as he came through the door and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Hello." She said with a smile as she closed the door behind him. She made her way back into the kitchen to put on a kettle for tea. "I'm just going to put some tea on, you can pick a film if you like." She said. She had been introducing Draco to some of her favorite films recently so they made friday nights movie nights. She brought two cups out and set them on the small table, Draco was pulling off his jacket to hang. He was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, she had never seen him wear one in all the time they had been dating. Up until earlier this week, her flat had been rather cold since the landlord wouldn't let them light fires until he had straightened out some code issues, so Draco had been wearing jumpers and jackets every week. This wouldn't have been particularly interesting had it been practically any other two people, but it was Draco and Hermione.

She could see his Dark Mark. Faded, yes, but still there and very prominent due to his wardrobe choice. She froze, her eyes fixed on the monstrosity tattooed in the darkest black ink on his pure, white skin. He noticed her sudden change in demeanor and glanced down at his arm.

"Hermione I'm so sorry, I completely forgot." He paused for a moment before grabbing his coat from the rack. "I should probably just leave, I'm sorry."

"No, no Draco." She said, snapping out of her daze. She grabbed his arm to keep him there. "Draco it's okay, it just took me by surprise." She looked down at the ground. "I'm not sure why. In the back of my mind I knew you still had it, you can't get rid of them. I just didn't think about it." She let go of him and rolled up her own sleeve to reveal a fading scar across her forearm. _Mudblood._ The grotesque word Draco's aunt had scratched into her arm on the floor of the old Malfoy Manor. A scar she had struggled to live with ever since but had learned to ignore. She had been slowly overcoming it. "I hate to be cliche, but our scars do not define us. I know it means nothing to you and it doesn't mean anything to me either. It's okay, Draco."

He smiled and kissed her. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, let's go watch an exceptionally happy film to cheer us up." She said with a smile.

"Sounds fantastic." He said, following her to the living room.

 _Early April 2002_

Draco and Hermione stood on the road in front of Draco's home, staring at the exceptional result of months of work. It was big, not _too_ big and certainly not as big as it used to be, just slightly bigger than the average home. It was big enough to house a sizable library, which he had been hoping for. It sort of looked like a large cottage. Most of the homes in the village had a similar look and Draco wanted something that looked like a home, not a historical landmark.

"Are you ready to see the inside?" Hermione asked, snapping him out of his momentary trance.

"As I'll ever be." He said with a smile, squeezing her hand in his as they headed toward the door. They walked in and were quite satisfied with the sight before them. Tall windows that let in lots of light flanked the far wall of the living area, the floors were a cherry-colored wood .

"I think the house is marvelous, Draco." Hermione said as they stood at one of the windows, looking out at the blooming flowers. "Are you moving in this week?"

"Yeah, I'd like to start as soon as I can escape that ruddy flat." He said with a laugh. They were both very keen to the god-awfulness of his flat. It was small and had an odd smell, the neighbor across the way had to be certifiably insane, the upstairs neighbors were too loud as always, and the landlord's cat seemed to really like Draco's flat in particular.

The couple spent a few more minutes in perfect, peaceful silence. Draco had one hand in his pocket, a pocket that held a ring box he was now very unsure what to do with. They had been dating for a while now and he knew she was the one before he even really met her. He had been brainstorming ideas with Colin, all of which were horrible options, before they just landed on a nice dinner. Draco had planned to take her out maybe later that week, before realizing then and there that that was absolutely ridiculous. They were not propose-in-a-restaurant people. They were simple and easy-going and they didn't like overly-sophisticated things. If he didn't do it now, he would never get this moment back.

"Hermione?"

"Mhm?" She responded, turning to him slightly. He looked her in the eyes and swallowed his anxiety.

"Listen, I was going to do this later, I had a thing planned, but now I'm thinking about it and I realize my plan was rubbish and I'm not sure why I thought of it in the first place…" He rambled, she seemed to have caught on but she also didn't look like she was making assumptions. "But I want you to know that I love you, I've known it for a long time I'm not sure which letter it was specifically it's all kind of a blur, but still. I'd really like to live in this house with you someday, everyday actually. I'd like to spend everyday here, with you, for the rest of my life. I hate to be cliche, but cliches are often true, that's why they're cliche…" He paused and looked down at his feet trying to get a hold on himself. "Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I love you and," He got down on the customary one-knee and pulled the little box out of his pocket, trying to breathe and not drop the box as he opened it. "And I'd like to know if you'd marry me?" He looked up at Hermione, her eyes slightly watery and her smiling growing exponentially. "Please say yes."

"Of course it's yes, you dummy." She said, crying and laughing simultaneously, but mostly crying. Draco pulled himself back up onto his feet and slid the modest, silver ring onto her finger. She pulled him into an exceptionally happy kiss and they held each other close for a few minutes, hardly believing what had just happened. _They were getting married._

 _June 14th 2002_

Hermione finalized the very last details with the assorted staff and set back off towards castle. Hannah was getting ready in the Hufflepuff common room and Hermione was sent to sort out a seating emergency. Neville was all dressed and ready and sitting, very nervously, in his office. Hermione had gone to check up on him a few times, making sure he hadn't passed out and that he had fastened the tie correctly. She got back to the Hufflepuff common room to see Hannah with her other two bridesmaids, Susan Bones (the genius creator of Medicinal Mail) and Megan Jones, her old dorm mates.

"How do I look?" Hannah said, absolutely beaming and turning in a circle as Hermione entered. Her gown was pure white. It fit her torso flatteringly and flared out into a sensible tulle skirt that made her look much taller. It had dainty lace cap sleeves and small lace flowers that trailed their way up the skirt until their was just a smattering at the waist.

"You look breathtaking Hannah." Hermione said as she grabbed Hannah's dainty hands in her own. "You better not make me cry today, I've told myself I'm not going to."

"And I'll hold you to that. You better do the same when your day comes round."

"I certainly will." Hermione said with a smile before pulling Hannah into a tight embrace. "Now all the guests are here and seated and I've sent Neville down, are you all ready?"

Hannah nodded vigorously. "I am." She said with a smile and a deep breath. The four girls made their way out of Hogwarts and started heading towards the lake where a crisp white tent had been constructed. They met Hannah's father and the groomsmen and proceeded towards the tent. Harry was Neville's best man. He approached Hermione and they linked arms waiting for Susan and Megan to make their way down the aisle with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan.

"I can't believe the day finally came, felt like forever till the wedding." Harry whispered to her.

"I know, I've been hearing her talk about it for ages and we've been planning so long I felt like we'd never get here."

"But we did." He said, they smiled at each other before proceeding down the aisle. Neville stood at the end in nervous anticipation, joy was plastered across his face. They finally reached the end, took their places, and turned around to watch Hannah make her way down.

She was stunning. Her smile was beautiful, her entire countenance was shining. The only possible rival to her own happiness was Neville's. Hermione doubted she'd ever seen him so cheerful. Hermione looked out into the audience. Draco was on the tail end of one of the middle rows on the bride's side. Hannah had insisted Hermione bring him along, much to Neville's chagrin which Hannah quickly protested with shouts of "He's changed!" "He's a good person!". Draco was happy to tag along, he liked Hannah and appreciated that she saw him as a changed man. She was one of three people who did not openly question their relationship. All of the Weasley's had been quite skeptical as well as many Order members. Ron had just about had a conniption; it took Harry weeks to convince him that it was a good match. Harry, Colin, and Hannah had been perfectly accepting of them and she was forever grateful for it.

The ceremony went by rather quickly and the celebration soon commenced. There was great food and dancing and happiness. There were lots of slow songs as Neville and Hannah were a classically sappy couple and Hermione was able to pull Draco onto the dance floor for a few.

"You know, this only makes me more excited for our wedding." Draco said quietly as they danced.

"Indeed it does." She said with a sweet smile.

"When is that by the way?" Draco asked. They had yet to set a date and Draco had left it up to her, " _Anything but June"_ was all he had said in regards to the matter.

"Ah so that's why you agreed to dance, you're trying to sequester a date out of me." She said teasingly.

"Well I would like to know, the curiosity is killing me. Plus if we don't set a date we might forget to get married." He said with a small laugh.

"Alright alright." She said looking at the floor for a minute. She'd always wanted a winter wedding, but Draco didn't seem like a winter-wedding-type, so she had delayed setting a date to possibly warm him up to the idea. "How about November?"

"November?" He asked, obviously a bit surprised. She nodded and he smiled in return. "I think November sounds fantastic."

 _November 16th 2002_

Hermione hadn't let anyone see her dress yet. Not even Hannah, her maid of honor. She wanted it to be a surprise for them on the day-of. She loved her dress, it was completely her and it was beautiful. It was 12:45 now, the ceremony was at 2:00 sharp. Hannah and Ginny were waiting out in the living room for her. She was in her bedroom, donning the gorgeous gown. It was a pure white, not so white that it was hard to look at, but rather like snow in the evening. The fabric was smooth and supple and draped over her gracefully. The wide neck reached just under her collar bones and out to her shoulders before plunging down into a perfect "V" that hit the center of her back. The sleeves were slightly longer than her arms, but they dipped gracefully into a loose flounce overlaid with dainty, thin lace. The bodice reached her waist before turning into a plain, crisp skirt that was padded by a just-enough layer of tulle underneath.

Hermione examined herself in her dress for minutes on end, making sure every last piece of it was properly positioned and that every wrinkle was flattened. She simply stood there, staring at herself, hardly believing that she was about to get married. It was even harder for her to believe that she was marrying Draco Malfoy. Her younger self would have been thoroughly outraged had she known in advance. She gave another deep breath before smiling at herself and turning to leave the room.

Hannah and Ginny were awestruck the minute she emerged.

"Hermione you are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen!" Hannah said cheerily, smiling ear to ear and capturing Hermione in a warm embrace.

"You are absolutely breathtaking. And this dress! It's gorgeous! It suits you perfectly!" Ginny said grasping Hermione's hand and giving her a good once-over before she lead her to the table and sat her down. Ginny pulled out her wand and a few wizard hair products from a bag she'd left on the table. Hannah brought out loads of bobby pins and look at the insurmountable mane on Hermione's head rather wearily.

"Don't worry, I'd like it if you could just tame it a bit. Nothing extravagant, please." Hermione said faintly, suddenly feeling very bad for her dear friends who had to attack this.

"Oh, I know what will look good." Hannah said, realization dawning on her face as she started gathering Hermione's hair into her hands. "Something loose but still up and out of the way, it would compliment her bone structure", Hermione raised her eyebrows at that remark, "and it wouldn't cover up the dress." Hannah said excitedly.

"Perfect!" Ginny said as she reached for some sort of formula that Hermione hoped Ginny knew how to use.

Forty five minutes later, Ginny and Hannah had effectively tamed Hermione's birds nest and conquered it into soft curls. They'd pulled it up into a loose, graceful bun that had a few small strands left out to frame Hermione's face. Ginny had conjured a few green sprigs that slightly resembled laurels, and placed them elegantly in Hermione's hair. They left her makeup very understated, a slight bit of rogue and that was about it. She had long lashes and clear skin so didn't need much else. They pulled her in front of the floor length mirror in her bedroom once more.

"You know I hate to say you look simple on your wedding day, but in this case you really do. But it's not a bad simple, it's a breathtaking simple." Hannah said, staring with Hermione at the reflection and holding her arm tightly.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked. She obviously meant to go to Draco's house, but Hermione sensed she meant much more by the look in her eyes.

"I am." Hermione said with assurance. The three girls made their way downstairs and carefully made their way to the apparition point. Draco would already be at the church at this point so they apparated straight to his house. It was too far a distance to take a car and they didn't want to risk getting soot on themselves through the Floo network, so apparition was their best option.

When they arrived they made their way inside and took in the sights. The house had been filled with twinkling lights that floated in the air, the shelves were filled with the peonies and vines. It was beautiful. Draco had cast a warming charm on the large tent outside, which was where they were having the reception, and Hermione could tell from the window that it was similarly decorated as the house, therefore an absolute dream. Ginny and Hannah went outside to check and make sure it was all in order and insisted Hermione stay inside so as to not vex herself about it. She hadn't been terribly stressed about the wedding

The sound of a car rolling up the drive sounded through the open front room window. Harry hopped out and came inside. He stopped the minute he laid eyes on her, he honestly looked like he might cry.

"Harry? Are you crying?" Hermione asked with a wry smile, but a similar feeling rising in her chest. She'd never been able to rescue her parents from Australia, the damage that reversing the Memory charm would do was too great to consider it an option, so Harry had offered to walk her down the aisle. He truly was her best friend.

"I'm a bit misty eyed, yeah, but don't you dare hold it over me." He said with a small smile. "I think I would be in trouble if I saw you and didn't tear up a bit. You look breathtaking." He walked towards her and they met in the middle in a very tight, very loving embrace. Harry had been there for her for as long as she could imagine. He had been kind to her before Ron had even spared her a second glance. He had never underestimated her powers or her ability. He had always supported her and stood up for her. She couldn't think of a better person to pass her on the next phase of her life.

Harry had escorted her out of the house and into the waiting car. They were sitting in sentimental silence in the back as Colin drove them down the winding road to the church. They were getting married at the charming muggle cathedral in the village. Hermione had fallen in love with it when she'd seen it; it was classically beautiful and picturesque. Draco had liked the idea of getting married there and the ceremony was normal enough to where a wizard-wedding in a muggle church was acceptable.

The road was beautiful, it had just started to snow a few days earlier but it was light and pleasant, only adding to the atmosphere. It looked like a Christmas card.

"Hermione?" Harry asked suddenly, turning his attention towards her and away from the window.

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad you and Draco found each other. I know it wasn't conventional and certainly unexpected, but he's a good man. Somehow he managed to deserve you, and I didn't think that was possible." She smiled, trying to keep the tears welling up behind her eyes from falling.

"Oh, Harry!" She said in a huff pulling him into a slightly awkward but completely loving embrace. "Thank you." She said quietly, the sincerity in her voice was heavy.

They pulled up to the church within a few minutes and Hermione took a deep breath, looking at the wooden doors that had laurel wreaths hanging from them. "You ready?" Harry asked, grabbing her hand gently. She nodded her head, giving him a reassuring smile. She was nervous, there was no getting past it, but she was excited beyond belief. The love of her life was waiting just down the aisle. Harry had gotten out the car and circled around to her side to open the door for her, a true gentleman that one.

Ginny and Hannah had just pushed the doors open and were waiting right inside in their dark crimson bridesmaid dresses. The color was stunning on both of them and their wide smiles only made it better. They guided Hermione up the steps and into the foyer, fixing and straightening her dress before handing her a bouquet of light pink peonies and greenery. Her smile widen and she took another deep breath as processional music began to play. Ginny took Blaise Zabini's arm and began their jaunt down the aisle. Blaise and Draco had reconnected a few months ago-though they had always had a fairly solid friendship- because Blaise had returned from a long stay in Italy. Hannah grabbed Colin's arm and they both shot her toothy grins before turning and following Ginny and Blaise.

Hermione looked at Harry as he took her arm and gave her the happiest smile she'd ever seen. "Let's go." He said, nodding his head in the direction of the auditorium and the rest of her life. She could feel her heart pounding as they started making their way down the aisle. Draco was standing at the end of the aisle, looking dashing as usual and uncommonly comfortable in his tux. She smiled at him and the smile he returned made her heart flutter. He looked like his eyes might be watering but he would never allow anyone to think that. He may have been a romantic sap at heart but he would never tarnish his manly reputation.

She looked about the audience as she and Harry slowly made their way down the aisle. She could see lots of old Hogwarts friends; Dean and Seamus were thick as thieves, Parvati and Padma were sitting on either side of Lavender Brown, Pansy Parkinson was held tightly around the waist by Theo Nott, the entire Weasley clan was clustered together with large smiles on each of their faces, even Ron was grinning at her. Professor McGonagall looked uncharacteristically joyful and exceedingly elegant in her green robes. Susan Bones looked oddly pleased with herself (they couldn't possibly pass up the chance to invite the woman who had made all of this a reality). Narcissa Malfoy had surprisingly shown up; she had avoided England for a long time but had kept up a healthy amount of contact with her son. She had been shockingly accepting of the pair, saying she had no real weight in Draco's decisions as he was a grown man and that she had always had misgivings about the ideals of blood purity anyways, it was refreshing to see her son crush them.

Hermione's eyes met Draco's yet again as she made her last few steps toward the altar. Kingsley Shacklebolt was smiling down at both of them as they took each others hands. The ceremony was beautiful, their vows were simple and loving and neither one of them could take their eyes off of each other. The minute they were pronounced man and wife, Draco pulled her into his arms and kissed her with everything he had. They made their way triumphantly down the aisle, hand in hand and grinning like madmen. The doors of the church swung open and their friends were throwing rice enthusiastically (none of them had any clue how to throw it properly so it went in every direction except that which was intended, who knew throwing rice could be so difficult). He pulled her out onto the steps of the church, the snow was falling lightly and their friends were streaming out of the church around them, and kissed her once more for good measure. The climbed back in the car Harry had commandeered and told their friends they'd meet them at their house for the reception.

The reception was gorgeous. It had started to get dark rather early, being November and all, but the fairy lights that had been scattered about the tent shed an abundance of warm light. Hermione gazed about in happiness, it was beautiful. Ginny and Hannah had outdone themselves. Draco was dancing with his mother; she was smiling at her son, obviously proud. Her heart hurt at the fact that her parents weren't here, they couldn't even remember they had a daughter much less mourn missing the most important day of her life, but Arthur Weasley had whisked her onto the floor for the Father-Daughter dance without hesitation.

Draco finished dancing with his mother and found Hermione again. The reception was dying down at this point, Narcissa had just portkeyed back to her home in France and McGonagall had taken her leave back to Hogwarts. Quite a few other guests had trickled away with the passing of the hours. "Come on, love, one last dance." She smiled and took his hand and they made their way to the middle of the dancefloor. There were a few other couples swaying lazily around them; Harry and Ginny, Hannah and Neville, Colin was dancing with George Weasley which was quite the hysterical thing to behold, they flitted about in playful mockery of the other couples on the dancefloor before finding seats next to Ron with glasses of butterbeer.

La vie en Rose was playing softly and slowly, Draco was holding her gently at the waist and swaying elegantly. "Is it a bit odd to you that we're married now?" She asked quietly.

After a moment's hesitation he chuckled softly, "Yes, to be completely honest. It's sort of surreal."

She laughed in unison before replying, "I agree. It's odd to think that if my 15 year old self had seen me today she would have murdered me for my choice in husband."

"To be fair, I think my 15 year old self would have joined her."

"Well, we certainly showed them." She said with the last bit of a laugh.

Susan Bones approached them and they let go of each other to turn towards her. "Just wanted to say congratulations before I head out. I'm really glad you two found each other, even though you broke practically every rule of Medicinal Mail." She said jokingly.

"Well think of it this way Susan, now you have a user testimonial that will be sure to rake in members." Draco joked in reply, to which they all laughed.

"Thank you so much for coming, and thank you for reassigning me when I demanded it, that couldn't have been satisfying." Hermione said with a smile.

Susan shook her head, "I'm glad you pushed me to it, now I've got a real interesting story to tell at family holidays." They all laughed together one last time before she apparated away. The Weasley's all seemed to make their goodbyes in quick succession, followed by Harry and Ginny. Neville came to say his farewell followed by a somewhat teary Hannah, "I'm just so happy for you two, you're so lovely." Hannah said as tears started to trail their way down her cheeks. Neville pulled her into his side and said goodbye for her before apparating away. Colin was the last person left.

"I suppose I should get out of your hair about now, didn't even realize I was the last one left." He said as he pulled his jacket lazily over one shoulder, his pointer finger hooked under the collar. "I'm really happy for you guys, it was a beautiful wedding and a great party. Thanks for having me as groomsmen, mate." He said as he gave Draco a manly pat to the back.

"Well I have a shortage of male friends so I was running out of options." Draco said with a smirk. Colin simply shook his head, a grin emerging from the corner of his mouth.

"And you looked beautiful, Hermione." He said pulling her into a hug, "I'll make sure I've got the shop all taken care of this week, glad you planned for November, should be manageable for one person, it's never busy these days."

"If you need any help at all, feel free to find it. Not us, of course, but someone capable. I'll be back by next Monday so please don't set it on fire or anything."

"Of course not, I'm not _that_ bad." He said with one last smirk before giving the pair a two-fingered salute and apparating away.

"I wouldn't count on the shop being there when we get back." Draco said.

"I suppose it is foolish to dream." She said with a smile as they made their way inside, their arms loosely around each other's waists.

Draco unlocked the door and stood back to let her inside. "Welcome home, Mrs. Malfoy." Her smile stretched across her face as they made their way inside their home. _Their_ home.

 **A/N:** IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET THIS CHAPTER UP I'M SO SO SO SORRY. I have a crazy amount of schoolwork this week and next due to finals, so it may take me a while to finish the epilogue and get it up (that's right, all I have left is the epilogue). But hopefully when finals is done I can start working on some new stuff, hope to have a new story up by April at the latest. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! This is my first long fanfic, I know it's only 16 chapters (will be 16), but it's been quite the accomplishment. Thank you guys so much for your support and readership! I promise it won't be more than 2 weeks for me to get the epilogue up.


	16. Chapter 16

_September 1st 2017_

Today was the day. Hermione sat up in bed, her nerves refusing her any extra sleep than what was absolutely necessary. Draco was lying next to her, his hair was ruffled and his white t-shirt was wrapped around his torso awkwardly. He was breathing steadily, apparently very peaceful and not at all nervous. She was playing with the edge of the sheet, trying and failing to quell the anxiety that was rising from the pit of her stomach. The sun had started to shine through the large window and Draco slowly stirred.

"Up already?" He asked, his voice was sleepy and gravelly as usual.

"I can't really calm myself down. I slept for a few hours so it wasn't a total loss, but my nerves won't allow it any longer." Draco sat up and leaned against the headboard, he pulled his wife into his arms and she tucked her head under his chin. "I'm just nervous for her, I know she's completely capable of taking care of herself, more so than Leo is or probably ever will be, but still. She's my girl, it's going to be hard to let her go."

"You're not letting her go, it's Hogwarts, she'll be back home for Christmas and such and all the rest of the time she'll be at the safest place in Britain. You have nothing to worry about, love. Rose will be fine, she'll be brilliant actually. And James is there he'll teach her the ropes. And she'll have Veronica too. There's nothing to worry about."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She had needed to hear that. Of course knowing James Potter would be there to help out her daughter was only slightly unsettling given how mischievous the boy could be. Veronica Longbottom would certainly be the voice of reason for Rose. Rose was smart, much like her parents, but much unlike her mother she could be quite the rogue. She was the type of student who wouldn't do a lick of studying and still get topl marks on every test. She had a proclivity for mischief (much like James, though not as refined or overwhelming) and she was a fast thinker. She was wickedly witty and her devil-may-care attitude was one for the books. Rose was going places, they both knew it, but parting with your first child was always such sweet sorrow.

Hermione gave another large sigh and pulled herself, ever so reluctantly, out of Draco's arms and off the bed. She started getting ready for the day while Draco went to put the coffee on. She showered and changed quickly and went to check on the kids. It was already 8 o'clock so she assumed Rose would at least be awake. She wasn't surprised when she knocked on her door and opened it to find Rose double checking her luggage. She was still in her pajamas, but she was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed digging through her trunk.

"Hi Mum." She said without looking away from her task.

"You've got it all sorted out then?" Hermione asked, approaching her daughter and joining her on the hardwood floor.

"I think so. I've got all my school books, I've got all the clothes I'll need. I've triple checked to make sure I've got all my bath-things, I always forget them so I figured a third time's a charm. I've got all my non-school related books and my Weird Sisters poster, and that picture of me and Veronica from a few years back. I figure that's everything I need. If I've forgotten something can I owl you for it?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Hermione looked at her lovely daughter for a few moments as Rose looked over her trunk once more. "Are you nervous?"

Rose smiled, "Well duh, Mum, of course I am. I think it's obligatory, plus what fun would I be if I wasn't a little nervous? Don't want people thinking I'm that one obnoxious 11 year old that knows everything. That's what dad said at least."

Hermione laughed at that and shook her head, "Your dad can be quite insightful sometimes."

"Yeah when he's not being a swot."

"Rose!" Hermione said as she laughed, playfully smacking her on the arm. "You know he used to call me that, I'm not saying it wasn't warranted, it was perfectly spot on, but still don't call your dad that!"

Rose giggled as she shut her trunk with finality. "Are _you_ nervous, Mum?"

Hermione's expression softened and she sighed yet again. "To be completely honest, yes. But that's to be expected. I know you'll do amazing things, I know you're ready for Hogwarts, but it's hard to know that you'll be away for so long. I'll be fine after today, I think. I mean who knows I've never experienced this before so I'm not totally sure, but I know Hogwarts is the best place you could be other than home. And I'm thrilled for you to say the least. I know you'll excel, I know you'll thrive, Hogwarts was one of the greatest parts of my adolescent life and I'm excited for my kids to experience it."

Rose waited a few moments, "So you're saying you'll miss me more than Leo when he goes?" She asked jokingly. Hermione burst into giggles as did Rose. This was usually the way their conversations went, Rose's humor often got the better of her parents. Draco appeared in the doorway, a towel around his neck as he ran it through his damp hair. Hermione turned around to meet her husband, he was still as attractive as the day he walked up to her in the snow and asked her for a job.

"You ready, Rose?" He asked.

"Yeah, Dad." She said as she gave her trunk a significant pat. "Got it all triple checked."

"You can be creepily like your mother sometimes." He said with a laugh.

Rose's face scrunched up, "Dad, that's offensive to my very being."

Hermione scrunched up her face in an identical manner and smacked her arm playfully again. Leo popped up behind his father, which was often a scary sight. The two of them were practically identical, the only difference was Leo's riotously curly hair. People had expected Draco's distinct genetics to be apparent in all of the Malfoy children, and Leo was a perfect example of that. Rose, however, was not. She had Draco's grey eyes and his straight hair, but her hair was dark brown -several shades darker than Hermione's but the same shade as Hermione's mother- and she had Hermione's delicate features and complexion. Both children freckled in the sun, Rose a bit more severely. They definitely looked like siblings, but they were two completely different people. They were both smart, but in vastly different ways; where Rose was quick-witted and starved for knowledge, Leo was a walking encyclopedia who loved knowledge for the reward. Rose was independent and adventurous, Leo was cautious beyond words and content. As siblings, they were a fearsome sight to behold, but as people, they were extraordinary.

"Are we leaving soon, Dad?" Leo asked as he wedged himself under Draco's arm.

"Not for a little while, Leo. Go get dressed for the day and then I'll whip up some breakfast." He said before Leo nodded and went trodding down the hall. "And look presentable!" Draco called after him as an afterthought. Leo had a horrible tendency of wearing whatever he had rolled out of bed in, he claimed he "didn't have time" to think about "stupid things like clothing". A typical 9 year old boy, really.

Draco turned back to his two girls, "You excited Rose?" She nodded vigorously, a smile spreading across her face. "You're going to love it, just promise me you won't get yourself into too much trouble? I don't want a letter home from McGonagall every other week." He said teasingly.

"I promise, Dad. Besides, the Hermione Granger in me simply wouldn't allow it. At least not during the first few months." She said, tossing her mum a sly grin.

"I just take solace in the fact that Veronica will be there, hopefully with enough patience to last the whole year." Hermione said, jokingly, knowing her daughter wouldn't do anything _too_ terrible.

"Well, come on then," Draco said gesturing out of the door, "let's get some breakfast in you." Rose shot up off the floor and sauntered down the stairs with her father.

 _Two Hours Later_

The platform was bustling with activity, as per usual on September 1st. Rose was anxiously playing with the hem of her jumper and scouting the area for Veronica. "She'll be here soon, dear, you know them, they're always late." Hermione said, noticing her daughter's nervous expression.

"Who's always late, Mum?" Leo asked, removing his eyes from the train that had had him completely entranced for the better part of ten minutes.

"The Longbottoms." Leo's eyes went wide at Hermione's answer.

"Agatha's going to be here?" He asked with thinly veiled excitement.

"Yes, of course, dear, Veronica is off to Hogwarts with Rose. She wouldn't miss sending off her older sister." She said with a smile, knowing full well that Leo's day had just improved tenfold. He had been crushing on Agatha since he was seven years old when he witnessed her expertly mount a broom and take off on the first go. Leo himself had been trying to perfect his flying and was utterly awestruck when he saw Agatha take to it like a duck to water. He envied natural talent, and for a seven year old that was enough to make you fall in love with a person.

The Potters were making their way down the platform at that moment and James ran the rest of the way to see Rose. The pair of them were thick as thieves, jumping into conversation the moment James was close enough to talk without yelling. Leo greeted Lily and Albus happily and all the children chatted amongst themselves.

Harry greeted Hermione with a hug and shook Draco's hand, "Ready to send her off?" He asked, his usual playful smile gracing his face. His eyes just as bright as they always had been, his hair still shockingly rambunctious for his age. Ginny hugged Hermione and shot Draco a kind smile.

"As ready as we'll ever be I suppose." Draco replied. "Though I think I'm having an easier go of things than Hermione." He said teasingly, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"What? I'm her mother, it's expected. And you'll be missing her just as much as I will come noon when you realize you won't see her till Christmas."

Draco nodded, a slightly sad smile on his lips. "Well of course, love, but I'm not going to _admit_ that, especially not with Potter standing right there." He said gesturing to Harry who was grinning sweetly.

"You get used to it, mate. Though I'm not going to lie, having James out of the house can often be quite a relief." Harry said with a laugh as Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You say that and yet it seems to me that you encourage his behavior even more than George does." Ginny said sarcastically.

"Well I couldn't very well be James Potter's son and not encourage his namesake to act accordingly."

The Longbottoms finally joined the mingling families on the platform, Veronica running up to Rose in best-friend fashion and glaring at James as was expected.

"Why if it isn't little Veronica Longbottom." Said James, teasingly. "Are you going to be a right swot this year? Or are you going to finally loosen up a bit?" He said poking her arm. Veronica sneered at him, an action she had perfected over the years.

"I'm not a swot James Potter, and I'd like it if you could kindly refrain from speaking to me for the rest of my life." Veronica said, with surprising bite.

James simply laughed, "Oh, Veronica, you know I could never do that. I simply can't resist you and all your fuddy duddy rubbish." He said, plastering an over-dramatic expression over his usual mischievous features, and lazily throwing an arm over her shoulders, which was quickly shook off. Ginny and Hannah had a running bet for when those two would get married, Ginny figured it would be the minute they graduated, Hannah figured Veronica would take much longer to come 'round.

The whistle sounded and children started gathering their things and boarding the train. Rose gathered her bag, having placed her trunk by the cargo car. "Ready, darling?" Hermione asked, pulling her daughter into a tight hug.

"Yeah, Mum." Rose said, taking a deep breath and moving to give Draco a hug.

"We'll miss you, Rosie." Draco said, holding onto her for a moment longer.

"I'll miss you too, Dad." She said finally pulling away. "But I'll be home before you know it and I'll send a letter as soon as I can with all my updates." She gave Leo a very forceful hug and then ran after Veronica to find a compartment. And just like that, the train was pulling out of the station, the steam rising from the edges of the tracks, the parents all waving even though half of them couldn't even see their children through the windows, and Rose Malfoy was off to her first year at Hogwarts.

 _The Next Morning_

Draco and Hermione had just dropped Leo off at school (he attended a Muggle elementary in the village not far from their house) and had apparated to Diagon Alley to start their work day. They made their way to Flourish and Blotts and shuffled inside. They had been in the store mere minutes when Henry appeared at the window, clutching a letter that was obviously emblazoned with the Hogwarts seal in his claws. Hermione rushed to the door and grabbed the letter from Henry, thanking the owl before he flew off back to their home. Henry often delivered mail to the store, knowing how impatient Hermione was when she was expecting something. Rose had promised to write them as soon as she could with what House she had been sorted into, she had clearly used the provided Hogwarts stationary to send her first letter home.

"This is it!" Hermione said excitedly, waving the letter above her head and smiling radiantly.

"Well, open it!" Draco said, equal amounts of excitement apparent in his tone. They had had quite a few arguments over which house Rose would be in. They had quickly ruled out Hufflepuff, but after that they really couldn't decide. Ravenclaw had been a contender, but they had only seriously focused on whether she was more Gryffindor or Slytherin. Draco was convinced that she would be in Slytherin, and though Hermione thought Rose was more likely to be a Slytherin than a Gryffindor, there was no way in hell she would ever admit that to Draco. She tore open the seal and pulled out the parchment. Reading it over quickly, she smiled to herself, shook her head and brought her palm to her forehead. She should have known.

"What, what house is she?" Asked Draco.

"Ravenclaw." Hermione said, turning the letter so he could see. They both burst into laughter. Rose had always assured them that she was adamant about not being in _either_ of her parents former houses. Of course she had been right. She often was.

"Well, that's quite a development. It makes sense though." Draco said, taking the letter from Hermione's hands and reading it over for himself. "And Veronica's in Hufflepuff. I'm not at all surprised by that, though."

"Yes, that was to be expected. Although, after that display on the platform between her and James yesterday, I will admit I had my doubts."

"True, that was a sight to behold."

Hermione nodded in agreement. She would have been happy with whatever house Rose had ended up in, but she was full of pride that her daughter had created a legacy of her own. She wasn't a Slytherin like most of the Malfoy lineage, nor was she a Gryffindor like all of Hermione's friends and their children had been. She was a Ravenclaw. Smart and passionate, creative and witty, it was entirely perfect for her.

"I think it's going to be a fantastic day." Hermione said smiling, as she pulled up the blinds on the windows and looked out onto the street with immense satisfaction.

 _ **Where Are They Now: A Compendium-**_

Leo was sorted into Ravenclaw, just like his sister.

Veronica Longbottom was Neville and Hannah's eldest, they had two other children, Agatha and Christopher.

Ron and Luna married two years after Draco and Hermione; they have one daughter, Stella.

Narcissa Malfoy eventually moved back to Britain in order to be closer to her grandchildren. As the years progressed, she and Hermione grew quite close.

By the time Hermione and Draco got married, Pansy Parkinson had ensnared her first husband. They had the row to end all rows 6 months into their marriage and divorced, her second husband ran off with his childhood sweetheart, her third husband mysteriously disappeared and was proclaimed legally dead (though everyone was pretty sure he had run off to the continent), and by the time Rose went to Hogwarts, Pansy was on husband #4 and they seemed perfectly content to everyones suprise. The society pages stopped keeping up with her after that though, so who knows what happened from there.

Colin Creevey became the Senior Photographer for the Daily Prophet, a job he had been chasing for years and constantly building a portfolio for. He never married but he considers a girl he met in Morocco on his many travels to be the great love of his life.

Henry, the owl, was gifted to Hermione and Draco by Susan Bones a month after their marriage. He lived for a very long time, and one day he just didn't return home from his daily exploration. They wished him well.

Susan Bones ran the Medicinal Mail program for many years, it was very successful and produced two other marriages.

Rose ended up marrying George and Angelina Weasley's son, Fred II, who was two years her senior. The had one son, who to Draco's immense joy, was a Slytherin.

Veronica, miraculously, married James Potter. No one else was surprised by this.

After years of chasing after her and trying to persuade her to go out with him, Leo finally married the love of his life, Agatha Longbottom, who had harbored a crush on since he was 7 years old.

Rose ended up studying law and political science, she became a liaison to the Department of Magical Law as a specialist in International Legal Exchange. Her husband Fred rightfully took over the joke shop, franchised it, and became a very successful businessman.

Draco and Hermione ran Flourish and Blotts for as long as they could. They eventually retired and Leo graciously took over (he secretly loved it, but he wasn't going to tell them that).

Draco and Hermione lived happily ever after (cheesy, but we all assumed that, right?).

 **A/N:** And that's a wrap! I hope the epilogue was satisfactory. I read a fanfic a while ago that had a little "where are they now" at the end and I thought it was precious so I included one in mine. Anyways, I just wanted to say THANK YOU. It's been such a positive experience putting up my first multi-chapter fic. To everyone who has stuck with this fanfic all the way through, thank you so much you mean the world to me. Your reviews warmed my heart, they were so sweet and encouraging. Thank you guys so much! I'm sorry it took me way longer than 2 weeks to get this up, school has been the death of me. I'll probably have a new one shot up next week that I've been working on. Like I said, I plan to have another longer fic up by April, just depends on how crazy school is. Hope you guys stick around for more! Your readership means so much to me!


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